Moon and the Sea
by Nutcase friend
Summary: Hina the goddess has been cast from the world of the gods to live as a demigod. Maui finds her in the ocean and brings her to Moana, where Hina tells them of the eel-god who tossed her down. The three, along with a good friend Ahonui, start their journey to investigate a strange island. Along the way, Ahonui and Moana are growing closer and Hina? What does Maui really feel for her?
1. Chapter 1

Hey Guys! I'm back with another romantic adventure, as I enjoyed the Movie Moana so much. Even though there was a few innacurate things about it, the producers aren't perfect, and i found it to be amazing anyway. Maui, as well, is not 'fat', but is just really muscly, okay? Just clearing that up. Also, i have no, absolutely NO romance between Moana and Maui, and instead they are like an annoying oder brother and stubborn little sister. All rights to Disney and obviously the people of the pacific islands who this story is about anyway. Also Hina is a goddess of the ocean and moon, and sometimes is depicted as Maui's older sister, but sometimes as his wife. obviously I'm not going with the sister thing, just to also clear that up. Anyway, all in all, I have barely any rights this time.  
Enjoy!

* * *

It was a wonderful day, the weather was every Wayfinders dream. The wind bounced across the ocean playfully, tackling at the sails with a tender force, which drove them forward. The waves themselves were rising and falling gently, but the wind threw their spray into the air and into Moana's face. Her cheeks had long ago grown used to the amount that she smiled while on the ocean, as she grinned right now.

Moana's hair remained in the tightest bun she could manage on days like this, trying to restrain it. On a smaller canoe it wasn't a problem, but on larger ones there was more ropes, more people and more dangerous things her unruly hair could get snagged in. Her feathery dress fluttered and would have tickled her three years ago, but she had long grown used to it, enjoying her likeness to a bird. She hadn't seen any seabirds for a while, but she was anticipating it soon, on her travel home. She'd been away for many months, leaving to find other islands and adventures again. They had come across many miniature islands and were returning to their mother island, grateful of their experience, as always, but also glad to be heading home.

One bird she had seen many times however, was Maui, as a giant hawk soaring around her pack of canoes, and sometimes landing on her own. It was weeks between each of his visits, and he was always himself. After three years of friendship, Moana couldn't help but smile at the thought of him, but also roll her eyes in annoyance. Only an older brother could be as annoying as him. he constantly teased her about 'how useless she was at being a Wayfinder', and always insisted on maybe letting him take over, at which she would laugh, then would try smacking him off the canoe with the signed oar she still had, which had survived through storms and all sorts of trouble.

She hadn't seen him for a long while, and just like she was expecting signs of her island soon, she was expecting his shadowy form across the sky.  
Ahonui, a good friend of Moana's, walked up next to her as she stared ahead of her.

"Where's the bothersome feather-head?" he asked with a smile.

"You better not be referring to me." Moana said with a smile, not looking at him.

He laughed, "Of course not, _Palu_. I've just not seen our monstrously muscled friend recently."

" _Our_ friend, Ahonui?" Moana tilted her head with a smiling pout.

"Hey, it's not my fault he doesn't like me."

"You dropped a bucket of fish on his head." Moana deadpanned.

"By accident! The guy is just too worried about that hair of his." Ahonui leaned against the post with his arms crossed and one leg tucked behind the other.

"You know," Moana said, raising an eyebrow, "Other gods might have killed you for it. I think you got off easy."

"Great, I'll remember next time I see him to thank him for tossing me off the boat instead. And the Ocean doesn't save anyone except you, and the stupid chicken!" Ahonui pointed dramatically at a skinny rooster who had plunked himself down in a tiny nest in the middle of the deck, where everyone had to avoid stepping on him. Heihei cocked his head, let out a single cluck, then closed his eyes again.

Moana shook her head fondly with a smile, and turned around again to watch for her homeland. Meanwhile, not realising she might see Maui a lot sooner than she thought.

* * *

Maui would never get sick of the wind, rough or calm, going through his over-sized feathers. It had only been three years since he had regained his power, after a thousand years of not being able to change, to travel, to see, to _soar,_ and he was cherishing every moment that he remembered that he had it back. And all of it he owed to that curly haired non-princess. And Te Fiti, who he had visited recently. She rarely ever woke, but he could still feel her appreciation when he sat atop the peak which was her shoulder, and told her of all the things he was doing, adventuring with Moana, battling more monsters, visiting more villages and helping them with, well, monsters.

And occasionally, it was suggested by the gods that he pull another island from the sea. He loved it, because he'd immediately tell Moana, and she'd rush off to find it, her excitement never waning even as she grew to approach 19.

Te Fiti appreciated the company, he knew. She wasn't one to speak, but you could always tell. A flower would bloom next to where Maui rested his legs, or a breeze would flick his hair, a breeze that hadn't been there before. He could always tell. He hadn't repeated the words 'thank you' since he had first received his hook back, but this was his way, and like he knew her appreciated, she knew his. She knew he was vain and occasionally pig-headed, but he was caring, and always tried.

Tried to help, and still, after as thousand years of isolation, still trying to impress the humans. Moana was the only one who had hated him before loving him, as he had about her. However annoying and stubborn she could be.  
Maui ducked majestically beneath another cloud and calmly beat his wings, not giving too much effort into staying in the air. This wind was favouring his flight anyway.

Suddenly though, the air grew dense with water, the clouds pulling themselves into a storm faster than Maui had ever seen. They angrily collided and rain drops the size of Maui's eye started bashing at his wings. Giving a surprised and confused screech, Maui dived down. When the weather was like this, it was far calmer and easier to be a whale, deep beneath the surface.

Diving was fun all in it's self, and Maui didn't mind having to close his eyes against the rain drops beating against his feathers and flying off, none of them being able to soak from the oil covering them.

But he felt the Ocean closing in, and opened his eyes long enough to gauge the distance from here to the water, then transformed when he was close enough. Huge waves threw themselves away from his body when his whale form hit the water, and he powered himself down until the only sign of a storm was the extra-keen currents and the flashes of lightning from above.

Maui looked up at a particularly large crash of thunder, which could even be heard from where he lazily swam. This could only mean the gods were not happy. They weren't mad at him though, he knew. If they were, they would have hurt him by now, taken away his power or beat him to a pulp. They would have sent the biggest demons to fight him, to crunch him into tiny pieces.

But they did not. The storm raged for hours and nothing hurt him.

Maui passed whole pack's of hammer head sharks, large groups of deep-sea tuna, and spotted the shapes of other whales far into the blackish blue.  
But no angry faces of gods, and no demons rising from the deep to snap at the flesh of his belly. Although getting through his muscles there would have been a feat in itself, he thought with a bragging, proud smile.

Then, he felt the water calm, and the thunder was starting to subside. He no longer felt their angry vibrations through the water.  
Maui decided it was safe enough to at least start to surface.

He was so close, so deliciously close to the surface, when there was the largest flash of lighting any beast of the land or sea had ever seen, the light made Maui give out a great whale whine and close his eyes. the crash of thunder too, could be felt deep within his chest and the people on land must have been tipped up from it.

Maui opened his eyes and looked up in alarm, and saw a form falling from the sky, which plummeted into the water in front of his nose, only metres away. Maui stopped himself from going anywhere, and stared at what had fallen.

It took a few long moments, but he recognised it as a woman. She was a good two or three foot taller than Moana, and would stare Maui right in the eye. On her arms and around parts of her exposed torso were tattoos that shimmered silver in the water. Her dress parts had once been majestic, he guessed, but were now torn.

There was no blood however.

Her hair, long and thick and beautiful, swept out of her face by the current, and Maui's heart stopped and he almost choked. His eyes widened, and if they could water, they could have. She hadn't changed, not a bit. Still as beautiful as she had been a thousand years ago.

And she was unconscious.  
Maui pushed her to the surface with the nose of his whale form, and then burst from the water as a hawk. He scooped her heavy form up into his claws as she floated on the surface, and beat his wings determinedly to lift off. The clouds had dispersed and a warm sunset met his eyes, but even that beautiful sight could not distract his frantic thoughts. He had to find Moana. He couldn't trust anyone else.

He needed her help once again, but he wasn't sure how much she'd be able to help with this. Besides, it's not like you can _heal_ a demigod.


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to Motunui

_Phew!OKay Guys, I totally smashed out a bunch of chapters for this fic, so i hope you enjoy. P.s, the rights for the movie are the to disney alone, but all my original characters are mine. Also, I have been trying to get everything in the language area as correct as i can, so if you're of the Pacific islands and I have gotten something wrong, please message me and tell me my mistakes so that I may fix them, i will really appreciate it. Anyway readers, enjoy.  
_

* * *

Moana had been asleep on the deck when Ahonui shook her shoulder.

"Palu, we've seen the birds." He said quietly with a smile. Moana gasped and sat up, then stumbled to her feet.

"Where?" she said, and her friend pointed up. Moana's mouth gaped open in happiness when she spotted the white tern perched atop their Canoe. It gave out a friendly screech, then lifted off and flew ahead of the canoes. Moana squinted at the horizon, forcing her eyesight as far as it could go.  
For a few moments, she didn't think she could see anything, and then she spotted a shadow of a line on the horizon. From this distance it wasn't green, but a single black bumpy line, barely the width of Moana's pinkie finger nail.

"Home!" She yelled, and pointed. Ahonui, her mother Sina, and some others of her tribe heard her call, and squinted in the same direction she pointed. When more and more of them spotted their homeland, they started to cheer.

"You've done it again, Palu." Ahonui said, nudging her with a smile. Moana smiled and looked away, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.

"You can call me Moana, you know." She said.

"I think I like calling you master Way-finder (Palu), it has a ring to it." He smiled at her while leaning against his favourite post again, and Moana smiled, looking away again.

There was chatter then, of what they were going to do when they got home, excited for the doubtless feast of their return and the opportunity to tell stories. Of course  
Ahonui would exaggerate, telling of sea monsters and creatures of the sky that they had never really come across. Moana would join, obviously, and say the great Maui had grown even more, and helped them defeat giant sea dragons by throwing Moana at its head and shattering its skull. The children loved the stories of Maui and Moana working together, so those who voyaged made an agreement that every time they returned home, a new story, the most exciting of them all, would be based around that.

It would still take them a day or two to arrive home, but Moana could hardly wait. Her father and mother sometimes took turns into who should go on the voyage and who should stay and run the village, which they did this time.

"I cannot wait to see your father again," Sina said happily, standing next to her daughter.

"I can't either." Moana breathed out. "He will be so happy to see us. I hope nothing went wrong at the village."

"Nothing has gone wrong since the darkness, and you dealt with that. I don't think anything has gone wrong." Sina said, smiling at her daughter with a tilted head.

"Something wouldn't feel right, if it had." Ahonui added. "We'd know, I think. And the ocean would probably let you know, Palu."

"If you keep addressing her like that," Sina said with a laugh, "You might as well be her slave." Moana's mother walked down the canoe to attend to other things, as

Moana and Ahonui laughed.

"Well _servant_ would be preferable to _slave._ " He added.

"You are neither. You are my friend." Moana said decidedly, and waited for them to return home.

* * *

Maui thanked over and over again that he had his full strength back, because without it, he never would have been able to do this. She was as heavy as he remembered. She was more or less the same build as Moana, but she was tall and full of muscle from, well, being a goddess for thousands of years. She also ate like no other goddess Maui had ever met, and he'd gotten into lots of eating competitions with her that had lasted for days.  
He carried her for ages, far across the seas, looking from island to island for Moana. He'd almost covered all of them before he'd decided that she must have headed home.

He gave out an annoyed screech like growl when he came to this realisation, feeling the burn on his hawk legs. His wings too, were tired, and his back. Their muscles ached from carrying her for so long. He had to take a break, and fast. He'd hoped to have found Moana by now, it's why he hadn't taken a break the whole time, but his body desperately needed it. Even a demi-god could get tired.

After a few hours of searching, he spotted a small island he had pulled up about two years ago. It wasn't big enough to colonise a whole village on, but was good as a resting place for voyages, and now, for Maui.

He sighed out in relief when he spotted it, and dived.

He landed among a dense part of the tropical trees, (choosing it in case a wind picked up later), lowering his great winged form to the green and luscious ground below.

Her body spread out in the grass comfortably, and Maui released his claws from her body, then dropped to the ground and transformed when he hit the grass.  
"Urgh, well lucky you're heavy or anything." He said to her unconscious face, while trying to catch his breath. She didn't answer, but her chest rose and fell slightly, and the grass near her nose shifted slightly every few moments.

Maui couldn't help but stare. He hadn't seen her for a thousand years, but he felt that nothing had changed. She'd been the same each time he had seen her, from the time that they were only thirty years old, which was eons ago now. She had been an intermediary for the humans and gods, sending humans subtle messages as to what they were required to do, and asking the gods in turn for favours. Save this person's particular child, make the harvest good this year, and turn a special infant, which had been tossed into the ocean, into a demi-god.

To have a second chance.

Even though she had not done it herself, she had suggested it to the gods, only being a few years old herself, having the physical development of a full-grown god, but maybe not mentally. She had seen something, Maui didn't know what, in him. Something that the gods had too, and then had given him the hook and made him a demi-god.

In a way, he owed her his life, but he'd never tell her that. She'd just boast and dance around him and say 'I saved you, hahaha,' or something pathetic and annoying like that. He smiled at the thought, then shook it away, turning his head away from her face as he laid on the ground.  
It took a little while, but when he started to feel normal, he stood. He was growing hungry, but he could eat when he found Moana. He could go ages longer without food, and didn't want to waste any more time. He transformed once more, feeling a little more energized.

He scooped her up in his claws, careful to not let too much of her dangle uncomfortably, then took off through the trees, heading to Motunui.

The wind was friendly, and headed in the same direction, making it a little easier. He just hoped Moana wouldn't be too busy to see to this, and hoped nothing had gone wrong on the voyage.

He had worried about Moana in the first year, worried that maybe she hadn't been ready to go out so quickly. But with each thing that had gone wrong on her trips, she had managed to survive and keep her people safe, so by the second year, Maui had forgotten to worry. Still, he hoped she was still okay. He cared so much about her, and she had helped him so much, he's not sure what he would do if she got hurt, or worse.  
But Maui couldn't think about that now. He had to get the injured goddess, now demi-goddess, to the hopefully well Moana and her friendly island.

* * *

 _A few days later on the island of Motunui…._

A masked face crawled from the shadows cast by the fires, it's face twisted angrily, and large angry carved eyes stared down at the little shapes below it, a forked tongue lashing from its mouth, carved into the wood. Harsh leaves were strung to the sides of the mask which rustles and hissed with each movement, as the mask-wearer stomped rhythmically to the music, his head jerking and tipping with the beat, and Ahonui's voice, muffled by the mask, was still great as he said,

"And from the deep came the largest and fiercest of all the sea Beasts. A serpent, bigger than any canoe you've ever seen, bigger than all of our canoes combined, crashed from the water!"

Ahonui jumped at the children sitting before the fire, and they flinched back and squealed.

"He was going to tear us to bits! And smash our canoes to splinters!" Ahonui yelled, grabbing a small wooden canoe he'd made hours before, and crushing it between his hands. The children squealed again, and gasped.

"But oh!" Cried one of the other voyagers in the background, "Moana and the demi-god Maui fought it to rescue us."

Moana jumped into the scene, in her ceremonial dress, with her famous oar in hand, and one of the larger voyagers with painted on imitations of Maui's tattoos, and some black sea-weed as extra hair, and a large carved fish hook, although it was nowhere near the size of the real one.

From there the trio imitated a fight scene, making it as elaborate as possible. The kids screamed and squealed and gasped and yelled 'look out Moana' at the perfect intervals. By the end of the battle, all three were sweating, but also smiling, luckily Ahonui's face was covered by the mask.

When it was over, Moana stood atop Ahonui's back as he laid on the ground, her oar pressed into his gut.

"And Maui and I threw the monster back into the sea!" Moana exclaimed, and the children cheered.

It had grown late, and the parents started to collect up their children as the fire-light died and the stars were hypnotising everyone into a sleepy state.

As the children dispersed with their parents, Moana hopped off of Ahonui's back, probably later than he would have liked, but she had done it for dramatic affect.

Ahonui stood and took off the mask without any of the children seeing. "And again I was made the monster." He said dryly, but with a smile. The fire-light was shimmering on the perspiration on his bare chest, and he had to rub his arm across his fore-head.

"You _know_ that you're not big enough to play Maui." Said Lelei, the biggest villager, who was around Tui's age, walking up to them.

"No one is big enough to play Maui! He's huge!" Ahonui complained.

"And you're not." Lelei said with a chuckle, rubbing away the paint. "But I am. Big enough to at least _play_ him."

"Boys, boys," Moana said with a laugh, "You're both big, okay? Next time, we'll just get _Maui,_ to play Maui. The villagers love it when he comes to visit. Especially the children." Moana said enthusiastically.

"There the only ones. He isn't _that_ good at telling stories." Ahonui mumbled. Lelei rolled his eyes, then cocked his head towards Moana,

"Goodnight Palu." He said.

Moana nodded to him as well, then turned back to Ahonui, who was still sulking. His hair was long and straight, and tied back. He wasn't huge, no, but was still a good foot taller than Moana, and was nowhere near the description of scrawny. He was a fisherman, and had loved the ocean as long as Moana, but never dared disobey Tui, and go beyond the reef. He'd been afraid of what was beyond, and of what would be back on the island even if he tried. He was in no position to go against what Tui had said.

But now there was no reason to fear what was beyond the reef, and he was on every single one of Moana's voyages, as her right hand, apart from her parents, and Maui pf course.

"You did brilliantly tonight. Being all attacked and that." Moana said kindly, taking her hair out of the braids that had been done for the performance.

"Thanks, but of course they didn't like me. They never like the villain."

"That's the point of being villainous, isn't it?" Moana teased. "Ouch!" She suddenly exclaimed, as some of her hair got caught in some of the shell beads of her dress.

"Come here, I'll get it." Ahonui said, putting his mask down and walking over. "You were never good with these things, even when we were kids. My mother said you never stopped squirming when your parents tried to get you into them."  
Moana smiled at the memories. "I thought they were itchy, and heavy, and annoying. And my hair always got- Ouch!"

"Sorry." Ahonui said, as he carefully plied her hair away from the beads at her shoulders. He then moved to her back, removing any other ones there, and Moana felt herself go silent as she felt his fingers occasionally brush her skin. He wasn't standing uncomfortably close, or far away in nervousness, but if he noticed her awkwardness, he didn't say anything about it.  
He removed the last beads and ties from her hair, then brushed a hand carefully through it to get any knots out.

"There you go, back to normal." He said, and went to pick up his mask again.

"Thank you." She said, and found herself looking at the sky, thinking about what Maui would say if he'd seen what had just happened. He'd probably complain, saying

 _'why him? He poured fish onto my hair. It took weeks to get the smell out!'_

Yup, he wouldn't be enthusiastic about it at all.  
But why was she even thinking about this? It's not like she had feelings. Just… you know… the occasional…wonder.

"Goodnight, _Moana._ " He said in a mocking voice, making his jaw hang at a ridiculous angle when he said her name.

"Night, _fish boy_."

He pouted, but eventually smiled and shook his head. He turned to leave, and Moana watched him start to walk off, the fish tattoos on his back appearing to 'swim' with each twist of his muscle. Moana looked away, biting her lip. She really needed some of Maui's judgements right about now.  
She didn't know if the gods were playing with her, or it was by pure coincidence, but she started to hear the beating of large wings, and the rustle of unnaturally sized feathers.

She turned with wide eyes towards the sea, where the clear lands made a path way looking directly at the sea, where the light of the moon made a silver pathway atop its waves.

A shadow of a great bird was hovering on the silver line, and eventually was getting closer. Other villagers spotted it as well, and cried out with joy, but then those voices turned to panic, and worry.

The hawk screeched, then came the deep cry of, "Moana!"

Moana watched as Maui turned on his path, circling areas on the island.  
Something was wrong. He wasn't flying as evenly as usual, and his cries sounded panicked and wounded.

"Maui!" her yell was closer to a scream. His hawk head turned, silhouetted against the stars, and he changed his path immediately when he spotted her near the dying fire.

Moana stepped further back as he approached, and her eyes grew wide when she saw that he had someone in his claws.

"Curly, we need some help." He said as he lowered to the ground, and placed the person before her. A woman. A big woman. She would stand a few inches bigger that Moana's father, Tui.

When Maui let her go and landed, he transformed. He then groaned and sank to his knees, breathing heavily.

"Are you okay!?" Moana said, going to her knees in front of him, placing a hand on his huge shoulder.

"I'm fine Curly," he said, waving the concern away.

"Moana!" came another voice, and she saw Ahonui approach from where he had walked off. When he saw Maui and the woman, he stopped. "Whoa. What happened.?"  
Maui turned and recognised Ahonui, then groaned. "Urgh, can you make him go away please?" he asked Moana.

"No, we might need him." Moana said, standing. She saw Maui's tattoo miniature nod in agreement, and Maui just groaned again, but didn't argue. Some more villagers had gathered.

Moana approached where the woman gracefully laid in the grass. Her clothes were tattered but apart from that, the only sign something wrong with her was that she didn't wake up. Her tattoos were a strange silver instead of the usual black or brown.

"Who is she? What happened?" she asked, kneeling down next to the woman's head, and checked for a pulse. She was alive.

"I'll tell you later, we just need to get her to your healing hut." Moana said, standing, his hand holding his hook loosely.

It took Tui, Ahonui, Lelei, and Maui to carry the strange woman into where the elders and healers took care of the islanders, which rarely was needed. Since Moana and Maui had put back the heart of Te Fiti, the amount of illnesses and diseases on Moana's island had decreased dramatically. She tried not to look at where her grandmother had passed away, only a few years ago. The men placed the stranger down, while Moana shooed away any other villagers and children that were not needed.

The healers then went to work, checking her pulse and lifting her arms and opening her eye lids, while Moana and her family watched. Maui sat nearby, watching with his fist pressed gently against his mouth, not moving a bit.

Sina saw him like that, and saw Moana glancing at him with worry, and the stranger woman.

"Moana, we'll leave. You can stay with Maui." She said, glancing meaningfully at her husband, who nodded in agreement. Lelei had already left to check on his own family. Ahonui didn't look happy about it though.

"Mum, are you sure?" Moana said, raising her eyes away from both demi-god and stranger. Sina nodded.

"You come get us when you want to, okay?" she said, and Moana nodded slowly, trying not to feel too grateful. They'd helped her this far after all, they would have deserved to stay if they wanted to, but Moana knew Maui would want them to go. Either that, or he was so focused on the stranger that he couldn't care less. Still, Moana wanted what was best for now.

"Thank you." She said, and pressed her fore-head and nose to her mother, giving her a hug, doing the same to her father, and watching them leave.

Ahonui approached her slowly. He glanced at Maui, then looked back at Moana. He was about to say something, but whatever it was, he decided against it. Instead, Moana stepped forward and gave him a hug as well. She felt him hesitate, then he hugged her back.

"You know where to find me, if, you know, you need someone to talk to." He whispered, and Moana nodded, then let him go.  
He walked out slowly, continuously looking back at her, and she didn't turn away until he was certainly gone. When he was, she walked over and sat next to where Maui sat crossed legged on the floor.

As much as she hoped he was focused on the healers, he had enough time to nudge her. She looked up, and he was smiling mockingly. "Curly's gotta boyfriend." He whispered in a sing-song voice.

"He is _not_ my boyfriend." She said with a raised eyebrow and twisted smile.

"Why him? He poured _fish_ on my _hair._ It took so long to get that smell out." Maui said, tilting his head with an annoyed expression at her, and she had to stop herself from smiling.  
 _  
Didn't I predict he'd say something like that?_ She thought.

"He's nice, and funny, and I've known him since we were kids. _And_ he's not afraid of the ocean. In fact, I think they get along in a similar way you do." She said, raising her eyebrows at him.

Maui just rolled his eyes, and in their path they once again fell onto the body the healers were working around.

"Do you think she's going to be alright?" Moana whispered. Maui huffed a laugh.

"You kidding? If this kills her, I'll never let her forget it, and she'd be so mad." He said.

"Wait, so you…know her?" Moana asked.

"Yeah, she'd Hina, you know, goddess of the silver moon and the ocean. But why she got thrown down here…"

"Hina!?" Moana exclaimed. "The Hina?"

"Yup, same annoying and stubborn and champion at eating Hina. I've known her for thousands of years." He said with a smile, but as he saw her laid out on the floor, his smile faded. He shrugged then, and said, "But I don't know why the gods would have thrown her down here, unless…"

"Unless?" Moana asked, looking at him.

"The gods weren't happy, when I found her. She'd been thrown from the sky, almost _at me._ The only reason they would do that is turn her into a demi-god, and going from god to demi-god is a really big step down, so…" Maui said.

"So, she's been punished?" Moana asked. "Maybe she did something."

"But apart from being a pain in my especially nice _ass,_ I can't think of anything bad she would do." Maui mumbled, his very expressive eyebrows pulled together in concern. Moana ignored the ass part.

In a few minutes, one of the older healers approached them.

"Palu, Maui," She said, and Moana stood. Maui, however, knowing he might make the healer nervous from his size, stayed seated.

"Yes?" Moana said.

"Well, we don't know everything yet, but it doesn't seem like she has any diseases or infections. To be sure though, we'll need to strip her down, so we're going to need  
you to leave." The elder said.

"Oh." Moana said. She was trying to decide whether it was especially rude to strip down an ex-goddess. "Um,"

"Only myself and one other healer will remain, to give her the utmost privacy we can." The elder assured.

"But, I mean, you know, goddess and all, wouldn't she be kind of-," Moana said.

"Curly, it's fine. She wouldn't mind." Maui said easily, standing. "She isn't going to smite you for it."

"If you're sure." Moana said, and the two Way-Finders made their way out.  
Both of them placed themselves onto some wooden benches that had been placed outside the hut. Both placed their elbows on their knees and their chins in their palms. After a few long moments, Moana turned her head slightly, still resting in her hands, and said,

"Do you want to go get something to eat? You look hungry."  
He sighed, and shook his head. "I think…I think I'll stay out here, and wait. Thank though."

"I can go get us something," she said, standing.

"You sure?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Yeah. I'll only be a bit." She said. He smiled and said,

"Thanks."

Moana considered saying 'you're welcome' in the deep voice she used when mocking him, but figured he'd probably trip her over for it, and she was too tired to deal with that right now. But, she did say something before she left.

"You know, you looked really worried about Hina when we first went in there." Moana said with a coy smile, the same he'd given her when he'd talked about Ahonui.  
Maui gave her a flat look under his defined eyebrows. "Well I flew half way across the ocean to get her here, so I want to make sure I get a 'thanks' out of her if she wakes up."

"So that you can say 'you're welcome'?" Moana asked with a laugh.

"You know it, Curly." He said with a smile, and she nodded, then went to get the food.

When Moana returned, Maui seemed half asleep as he leaned against his hand. She was carrying some fruit for them to eat while they waited, and stopped a few feet away.

"Maaaaaui." She said quietly. His eyes fluttered for a moment, and he looked at her, then said,

"I was just, ah, squinting really hard at that bug over there." He pointed to the ground. Moana raised an eyebrow.

"Riiiiiiight. Anyway, here's some food." She threw him a mango, and he almost dropped it in his attempt to catch. "You should really get some sleep if you're this tired, Maui."

"I don't 'get tired', curly." He said with a sceptical look, cutting away some of the skin of the mango with the small knife Moana handed him.

"Of course, you're the great demi-god! Who fights monsters and _never_ needs sleep." Moana said the last bit in a deep voice.

"I will squeeze mango juice into your hair." Maui said with a threatening look, then bit into it while still looking at her.

"Seriously, we don't know when she's going to wake up. We can take shifts! I promise I'll wake you if anything changes." Moana said, taking a bite of her papaya. Maui lowered his Mango.

"As long as you _promise,_ not to tell the villagers." He said.

"Cross my heart." She said with a nod, then added, "Well, unless of course you snore."

Maui glared.

"Okay fine," she said while laughing, "No telling, got it."  
They finished eating, and when every villager apart from the healers and Moana had gone to sleep, Maui laid down in the thick grass, and went to sleep. He didn't snore, but he drooled, and Moana had to stop herself from laughing. He also had his mouth wide open as he laid on his side with his hook tucked into his arms, his 'silky' hair flowing over his face and curling into the grass around him. His tattoo miniature made no movements, but continued to hold up the sky.  
Moana smiled, and waited.

It wasn't long when the remaining two healers came out, and Moana quickly woke Maui in time for the healers to not see the fact that he'd been asleep.

"There's nothing more we can do. We think she will be fine, but only time can tell." The elder woman said.

"We can keep an eye on her," Moana said.

"You don't have to curly, I can-,"

"Maui, no. This is my father's island, and I am the master Way-Finder. I'll do as I wish, and I wish to stay here, with you, to watch over Hina." Moana said, sounding more convincing that she would have been three years ago. Being Palu had taught her a lot, and how to be commanding without being cruel, was one of them. Maui's arm dropped and his eyes widened. Then he laughed.

"Okay, as you say, Palu. Just don't slap me with your ocean friend." Maui said, waving his hands dramatically at 'ocean friend'. He then made his way up the steps.

"Wait Maui!" she said. He turned. "Isn't she, you know, naked?"

"She's covered up my dear." The elder said with a smile. "You two are free to watch over her, but I will be checking in frequently." She said.

"Thank you." Moana said, and watched the old lady waddle off to her own hut. Moana then followed Maui up the steps.  
Inside, the fire-lamps were still burning.

"You get some more sleep." Moana said to Maui, as they made their way over to where they had sat previously.

"You sure Curly?" he asked.

"Positively! I'll let you know when I need some as well."  
Maui nodded, then curled up into a huge ball, and slept again.  
Moana watched over the both of them.


	3. Chapter 3 Aaaand She's awake

For days, Moana and Maui had a routine. Maui had mostly recovered from only a few hours of sleep, but Moana commanded that he catch up on it anyway. So, for most of the night Maui would sleep away from the curious eyes of the villagers, keeping up his reputation, while Moana would watch over him and Hina. Then, a few hours before dawn, she would wake him and catch up on her own sleep. During the day, she still had her responsibilities, and would see to them while Maui remained in the hut, never wanting to leave Hina's side.

Ahonui frequently would check on Moana, and occasionally stayed long enough to irritate Maui, and they'd exchange insulting banter in the hut, Ahonui asking at one point if the thunder the other night had been Maui's snores, or his farts.

He hadn't left without a bruise or more after that.

Maui never 'hit' him, but his hook would occasionally wander near Ahonui's ankle and just 'happen' to trip him up. In response, Ahonui never went without an 'accidental' tipping of sea water on Maui's head. To his credit though, it was never fishy. Both of them came up with the most pathetic excuses as to how the incidents happened. Really, Maui would say Ahonui shouldn't walk near his hook, and Ahonui would say that maybe if it wasn't just lying around, he wouldn't trip and spill the water.

Moana simply stayed out of it and protected Hina from falling bodies of splashing water.  
For five excruciating days this went on. Maui's patience was thinning with Ahonui, but Moana had ordered him not to do anything drastic. Ahonui too, was getting irritated. On the fifth day, he was walking next to her as she went to visit the fisherman, and he said,

"He's making the villagers nervous. And it's getting around that the stranger is the goddess _Hina."_

"Because it is." Moana said. "You know it is. I told you."

"I know, but some of the villagers are uncomfortable with having a rejected goddess here. What if she wakes and gets angry? Maui and you would be blamed if she does any damage." He said with a serious face.

"Maui says she won't and I trust him." Moana stopped and stated it demandingly.

He sighed. "And I trust you. I'm just saying, we're all scared. A goddess that's been thrown from the realm of the gods? Forced to live as a demi-god? What does this mean for the people Moana?"

"We won't know until she wakes up. Now leave that to me, and you worry about the fish." Moana went to walk away, but felt him grab her arm, softly. She could have kept walking, ripped away, and she knew he wouldn't dare try hold her there. But she didn't, she turned, and found a very sad and concerned Ahonui.

"I just worry about you." He said, staring into her eyes. His own eyes were dark as the rocks of a volcano, while hers were lighter, like that of the wood of a tree. She found herself staying there like that for a while, even after he'd let go of her arm. She almost wanted him to put it back, to keep his concerned hand on her. Not to trap her, or keep her there, but to let her know she had his support.

Eventually, she whispered, "You don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"I know perfectly well that you can. But that doesn't stop me feeling it." He said with a smile. She smiled back, then had to tear herself away before she got caught into his eyes again, and the charm of his smile and concern.

The next morning, while she was sitting with Maui in the hut, she couldn't help but brush the spot that Ahonui had grabbed her arm, remembering how soft he had been.  
Maui looked over and noticed her distant look, and her fingers continuously circling a bit on her arm. He stopped munching on the fruit she'd brought for him, and said,

"You okay chicken perch?" he asked.

She threw him annoyed look. She'd earned the new nickname because Heihei kept thinking her headpiece she wore around the village was a nest, and frequently fluttered up to it to sit, and she couldn't do anything to get rid of him.

"I'm fine." She answered.

Maui shrugged, knowing that if she had something to tell him, she'd tell him anyway.

"It's just," she said, giving out a great sigh, and Maui smiled at knowing something like this would happen, "My villagers are getting worried. Scared. That maybe having a banished goddess means something bad. Would this be bad for us? For my people?" she asked.

Maui laughed. "Trust me daughter-of-the-chief, if the gods were going to do anything to harm this village, they would have done it by now. They don't like to wait for things to happen, mostly. They'd just zap ya and be done with it. This, I'm guessing, is just between the gods, and Hina." He continued to chew his fruit. "I can talk to the villagers later today, if you want. They'll take a speech from you, but I think some would like to hear it from a demi-god himself."

"Really? You would do that?"

"Of course, as long as I get a thank you out of it and some more fruit." He said, finishing off the piece he just had been eating and moving onto a banana.  
Moana rolled her eyes.

The morning was noisy as villagers bustles about, doing their thing, while children squealed and ran past where Maui and Moana sat just outside the hut's entrance, a bit of the curtain open so Maui could glance inside. Some of the children stopped and would gawk at the very familiar but still awe inspiring Maui, and he'd make a face or something which would send them either screaming or laughing.

Some of the village girls too, only a few years older than Moana, could hardly keep themselves from battering their eyelids. At these, Maui winked and they walked away giggling, usually in groups. But Moana never saw him really talk to one, or pursue one in the night, during this visit.

During other visits though, he might flex his muscles towards them, or talk to them in large groups, casually leaning against something. Moana couldn't feel anything else about it apart from disgust and weirdness. They can have him, that's for sure. But even other times he came around, she was almost certain his flirting never went beyond just that. He didn't seem that interested, really.

But she had spotted other girls taking a fancy to Ahonui as well, and that did twinge her heart a bit.  
To take her mind off it, Moana decided she should probably get about to her duties. Maybe she would come across Ahonui today… she shook her head of the wishful thinking, and said to Maui,

"Well, I suppose I should be getting to helping my people." She said happily.

When she went to stand however, she heard movement behind her. Maui heard it to, and both turned to look inside. Hina's leg moved.  
Maui and Moana almost bumped into each other as they entered the hut, standing just inside the entrance.

There was a groaning sound, and Hina's head turned, her eyes scrunched up and released, and eventually opened. She sat up slowly. Moana and Maui were still watching her cautiously.

Hina saw them, blinked at them, then looked down at herself. The blanket covering her had slipped down just above her breasts, but thankfully still covered everything.

She raised her hands and stared at them, her eyes growing wider. Then, she screamed, "WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-,"

Maui jumped forward and covered her mouth. "And she's awake," he mumbled, looking completely un-enthusiastic about the fact. "Now Hina, don't scream or I _will_ knock you back to sleep."

She swatted his hand away angrily. "Don't threaten me you bloody walking rock! Why am I here? What are you doing here? And why am I naked!?" she screeched, taking no time to use any energy she had gained in her deep sleep.

Moana stepped forward, "Um, you were asleep, for days. And we were making sure you're okay. Our healers, they took your clothes, to check you and stuff. But they're right here, so don't worry…"

"Wait," Hina said, raising her hand, "You look like a hum-," Hina's eyes widened as she must have remembered. Her face contorted into anger, and she yelled, "Those BATSARDS! Those complete and utter IDIOTS!"

"You may want to cover your ears for this chicken perch, she can swear for hours." Maui said, not fazed by any of it.

Especially, when Hina got to her feet faster than Moana would have ever predicted someone who had just come out of a coma to manage. Moana turned quickly and jumped to pull the curtain closed, and stayed turned away.

"I am so going to get them for this!" Moana could hear Hina yelling. "That slimy eel god is going to be little more than a PUBIC HAIR AFTER THIS. FUCK YOU YA-,"

Maui must have placed his hand over her mouth again, because the next words Hina must have said were muffled and indistinguishable.

"Hina," Maui deadpanned, "You're angry, you're mortal -to an extent-, you're scary, and you're _naked,_ so please calm down before you scare this village into the depths of the sea!"

There was a moment, then he must have let her go.

"Fine. I'll thank the village. And I guess, thank you, Maui. I know I couldn't have just 'turned up' here. You found me, didn't you?"

Moana was taken aback at how calm she sounded now, and how sincere. Maui, in turn, didn't sound annoyed at all when he answered.

"Yes, you were thrown down in a storm. Moana's people here took you in after I brought you here."

Hina laughed. "I bet that wasn't fun. Am I still heavy?"

"You have nooooo idea. I had to fly for days to get you here, and I almost dropped you about a thousand times, AND I was exhausted afterwards."

Hina laughed again. "Oh damn, Maui, I'm sorry. But thanks anyway."

"You're Welcome!" He exclaimed dramatically, and Moana guessed he had done some sort of pose.

"Um, I'm Moana" Moana said from where she stood, trying to wave her hand.

"Oh, sorry girly, hold on."

There were a few moments, and some rustling, then Moana felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned, and before her was the tallest and most impressive woman Moana had ever seen. When she was asleep, naturally she had looked calm, and beautiful, and vulnerable. But now! She stood strongly and her garments looked so perfect on her, not matter how tattered, her face looked almost as cocky as Maui's sometimes was.

"So, _you're_ Moana. The Moana?" Hina asked Maui, who nodded with a certain smile.

"The one and only, first Way-Finder in thousands of years. Friend to the ocean, friend to the lands, and friend to me, so be nice." Maui grabbed some fruit, and tossed it lazily towards Hina, who caught it without looking.

"I like her. Good vibes coming off her. So no, I'm not going to be mean. It's really wonderful to meet you, Moana. You're really famous where I come from."

"You mean, where the gods are?" Moana asked, feeling herself blush.

"Uhuh. The girl who started voyaging again. The one who returned the heart of a very grateful Te Fiti, and gave that Tamatoa something to at least dilute his ego." Hina said, throwing the mango skin onto the pile Moana and Maui had made onto a large piece of wood, to be thrown away later. She then ate the mango in only a few moments, even stripping the last bits of flesh from the seed, and tossing that as well with a satisfied look.

Moana was in complete shock.

"Uhh, thank you." She said, with a genuine smile.

"No need. You've helped me. Now, I owe you. And really, as far as owing goes, I don't even mind as much. My dept to Maui, however," Hina turned and looked at Maui, who pouted in annoyance. Hina continued, "that's going to be a hard dept. to cough up."

"I see you haven't changed." He growled.

"Likewise, rock head."

Maui gritted his teeth, but didn't say anything.

Hina smiled at him, then it faded, slowly.

"Hina?" Moana asked kindly, "Are you okay?"

"Te Tunaroa." Hina whispered.

"That slimy thing?" Maui said. "What about him?"

"Do you mean the father of eels? The eel god?" Moana asked.

"Hideous and creepy," Maui answered. "The amount of times he's tried to marry Hina makes me almost pity him."

"Maui, you don't get it." Hina said. " _He_ was the one who convinced the others to throw me down. I rejected him again. At first I thought he'd take it easy, like he had last time. I thought he was starting to give up. I mentioned you, Maui, making fun of him. Not long after, he told the others I'd killed some of his princes, showing them the bodies… He lied. He set me up."

"That is literally…so shit." Maui said, staring at Hina in sympathy.

"Maybe if we explain to them, they'll take you back." Moana said.

"No, they won't. We have no evidence, and they aren't the kind to look back on mistakes." Hina sighed. "I'll just have to live with it."

"Well the best thing about this world is," Maui said, flipping some dates into his mouth, "there's no snotty or annoying gods."

"Are you excluding yourself just because you're a _demi_ -god?" Hina said slyly, and again the annoyed pout was back on Maui's face. Moana bit her lip to stop from laughing.

"Well at least I still have powers." Maui said, and Hina's smiled dropped. Maui continued with a tilt of his head and pointing finger. "We still don't know if they've let you keep some of yours."

Hina, with a pout and raised eyebrows, then walked out of the hut.

Moana followed at a slight jog, because Hina's legs were far longer than hers. Moana had been right about predicting her height. She easily, and quite happily, could glare

Maui in the eye without a single tilt up of her head.  
Moana noticed the villagers around them stopping and staring, as the biggest woman they'd ever seen stomped down towards the water.

"Maui," She growled, "If I have any kind of power, you are so in for it."

Moana looked back as a jerk-like smile spread on Maui's big lips, as he walked casually behind them, his hook slung over a shoulder and the other hand swinging lazily.

He didn't have to try and keep up. "You still owe me a favour, remember? No hurting me while _that's_ dangling over you."

"Not if you're dead." Hina said with a smile. Moana's eyes widened, and she glanced again at Maui in concern, who's smile wouldn't falter. He saw Moana's look.

"Don't worry curly." He said, looking smugly at the back of Hina's head, "She won't kill me. She likes me too much. And who can blame her?"

"Is he the same to me as he is to you?" Hina asked Moana.

"Yes, unfortunately." Moana said with her own smile, "Behold, the great and powerful pain in my nice ass." She said, and flicked a glance at a now completely and utterly annoyed Maui.

"Curly, that is so not cool. Stealing someone else's line? Not. Cool." He said, emphasizing the last bit with a point at her face.

"Have you tried imitating his 'you're welcome,' yet?" Hina asked with a grin, turning to walk backwards and steal Maui's smug look from him.

"Uhuh. He doesn't like it much." Moana whispered the last bit behind a flattened hand.

"It's a lot like, You're Welcome." Hina said, saying his famous line in the deepest voice she could. Moana laughed.

"No, I think it's a little more excited than that." Moana said, and tried her own version.

All the way down the grassy hills, past the workers and villagers, ignoring the excited children at the silver-tattooed goddess, towards the ocean, Hina and Moana tried imitating the perfect Maui "You're Welcome," until both girls were wiping away tears of laughter. It was made even worse when they looked back at Maui, who looked grump, and lugged his hook on his shoulder like it was a chore object instead of his prized possession.

"Oh don't look at us like that, you big oaf, we're just having some fun." Hina said, elbowing Moana in a friendly manner.

At those moments, they made it to the beach, and Hina fell silent. She stared at the water, then walked towards it. Her feet met the coolness of the ocean, and she closed her eyes, tipped her head back and smiled. She gave out a great sigh, and Moana watched with a smile. Even Maui had stopped being grouchy, and watched with enchanted eyes. The water light reflected off of her silver tattoos, which covered her left arm and twirled down to her belly and around her left shoulder.

"I haven't been here in about a thousand years." She whispered, her eyes still closed.

"Goddess of the moon and Ocean, who hasn't been in it for a thousand years?" Maui said with a laugh.

"Oh I'm sorry, guy-who-got-trapped-on-crappy-island-for-a-thousand-years, did you think I asked for your comments?"

Maui surprisingly didn't pout, or look angry, but instead smiled at Hina who was still standing with her eyes closed, breathing deep. Moana found herself glancing from demi-god to demi-god, noticing Maui's face change. She made a note to herself to tease him for it later.

"This, I could get used to." Hina said, and opened her eyes. "Now, powers. Let's try this."

Hina started walking backwards, and after quite a few metres, started running towards the ocean again. When she jumped, Moana gasped, as she jumped a lot further than a human would have. In fact, she looked as if she were flying. But the effect was short lived. As she went further and further away from the island, she started to tilt down. Moana watched as she reached her arms out to meet the water at a dive, and splashed into it wonderfully. A few moments later, her form could be seen again, bursting from the water, and like a dolphin, soared above the water- except for a much longer period of time-, then went down again.

"If she drowns, I'm not going to get her." Maui said, watching. Moana hit him in the stomach with the back of her hand.  
Hina could be seen returning. Once she landed on the beach, the sand burst up around her and Moana had to quickly cover her eyes to stop grains of it going in her eyes.

She dusted it away from her face, then said, "Wow. That. Was. Awesome."

"Hopefully it's not all I can do." Hina said with a nod, then looked at her hands and raised an eyebrow with a smile. She closed her eyes, and to Moana's continuous amazement, started to grow. She grew taller than Maui, then the canoes resting on the sand, then finally stopped just above the tallest mast on the biggest canoe.

"Huh." She said, the started to shrink. She reached where her normal size was, but stopped. "Oh, damnit." She said. "I can't go any smaller. Oh well, I like being big anyway."

Hina tried a few more things after that, but apart from growth, the extreme water abilities, and a natural increase -mind you, a very large increase- in strength, there was nothing else.

"All in all, not too bad. I hope you're in for a serious butt-whooping, Maui."

When she turned to look smugly at Maui, she ended up laughing, and Moana along with her.

Maui pointed to himself and exclaimed, "Shark head! My powers are still cooler than yours,". Watching him speak with his head in the form of a shark-head made both women crack up even more.

When Moana finally stopped laughing, she noticed half the village was just beyond the sand of the beach, staring at the events. Maui noticed as well, and quickly changed his head to normal. Hina saw Moana and Maui staring at something behind them, and she turned.

Tui walked forward, Sina cautiously behind him.

"Oh, Hi dad!" Moana said, and grabbed Hina's arm gently. "This is Hina. She just woke up."

"It's nice to meet you, Hina." Tui said genuinely, smiling.

"And you, chief," Hina replied.

"I'm Sina." Said Moana's mother, coming forward. "You're looking well."

"Thank you for your help." Hina said to them both. "Without your village and Maui, I'd probably have sunk to the bottom of the ocean forever." She bent her head in thanks, and Moana's parents smiled.

"Forgive our people's curiosity. They were the same when they first met Maui. It's not often we meet a demi-god." Sina said.

"It's natural." Hina said, waving away the comment.

"We were wondering how long you would be staying. You're welcome here for as long as you want." Tui said.

Maui laughed. "Better not say that. She'll eat you off your own island."

Hina laughed and kicked sand in his direction. "Ignore him. I'm not sure, actually, but may I request a few more days at least? I still have to get my bearings, you know, suddenly mortal and all that."

"Of course!" Sina said. "That's completely fine. Moana can show you around the village."

"Thank you, again."

* * *

After that was the tour. Hina was shown around the village by an excited Moana, followed by a content Maui, and secretly followed, although not very successful in their secrecy, by a large group of village children. Some infants were bold enough to walk right up to Hina, and she'd scoop them up without so much as a blink of her eyes and place them on her shoulders. Even more amusingly, some would cling to her big legs and swing back and forth and back as she walked. She didn't seem to mind a bit.

She was shown where they made the boats, and the nets, the grove of coconut trees, where they husked the coconuts, where they cooked, where they danced, where they ate. Along the way, Maui had made a game of placing as many children on Hina as possible, and eventually all you could see was her eyes through the bodies of infants and children. The parents only smiled at the sight, not concerned at the children's safety at all. They trusted Moana, and trusted Maui enough as well to know neither of them would put their children in danger. In turn, the village didn't realise it, but they came to trust Hina too.

If someone wasn't going to hurt your child, that was good enough for them.

Soon Maui and Moana had kids clinging to them as well, but nowhere near as many as the very entertained Hina.

"Your village is even more beautiful than I thought. And so healthy." Hina observed as they walked.

"Well Maui and I _may_ have helped a little with that." Moana said with a meek smile.

"Maui was the one who put it in danger in the first place." Hina grumbled quietly.

"Urrrrrgh. How many times do I have to say it!?" Maui exclaimed in annoyance. "I didn't do it on purpose!"

"Oh, so you just tripped and 'accidently' stole the heart of Te Fiti. Yeah bet that excuse went down real well." Hina said with a sarcastic laugh.

"I mean I didn't know what stealing the heart would do." Maui said, exasperated and frustratingly throwing his arm around.

"Well what happens when you rip the heart from something? It dies. You took the heart of mother nature herself, so what did you think would happen?" Hina retaliated with a cocky smile. Maui said nothing, and when Moana turned to look at Maui, he looked ashamed and sad, only looking at where he was putting his feet. She held back a sympathetic sigh, but reminded herself to check on him later, when Hina wasn't around. She suspected Hina didn't actually know how ashamed Maui was of what he did.

It was midday when the official tour stopped, including walks around the island and into its tropical forests. Most of the children had stuck around the trio, laughing happily at Hina's teasing banter and playing with Maui's hair. They all knew to not touch his hook, however.

Maui, Moana and Hina sat in the shade of the trees bordering the beach a little way from the main beach, where a lot of villagers were, swimming and preparing boats.

"So, Palu," Hina said, turning to Moana, "When do you plan to voyage next?"

"Soon, actually. A few weeks maybe." Moana said with a grin. As always, she couldn't wait for her next adventure on the ocean. There was still so much to discover. So much to see. And other things, of the mortal world or that of gods and demons, that Moana was so curious about. She wanted to return to Lalotai, the realm of monsters, to see what she could discover there. Granted, it would be more dangerous than anywhere in the mortal world, but she wasn't planning on going alone. And really, it would be worth it.

"If I haven't become a big nuisance by then, maybe you could take me along?" Hina asked with a small smile.

"That's a really big 'if'." Maui said.

Hina poked her tongue out at him, then turned back to Moana. "How about it? Of course you don't have to, I can just find my own island somewhere, relax there for a while. But, now that I'm mortal…" she sighed. "I just don't really know what to do."

"That is so dumb." Maui said where he lounged on the grass.

"Maui!" Moana snapped.

"What!?" he laughed. "She's missing what is completely obvious. You don't know what to do now? HA!" Maui turned and laid on his back, the children with him automatically shifting for him to do so, then laying on top of his huge and muscly stomach, ribcage, arms, chest and legs.

"Fine then, almighty Maui, what am I meant to do?" Hina snapped.

"The exact same thing that you did as a goddess, duh! Help the humans. It's what I do."

"May I remind you that I actually gave you some of the tools to enable you to do that?" Hina said smugly.

Moana cautiously asked, "Like what?"

Hina turned with a smile. "You know when he pulls islands from the sea?"

"Yeah."

"The rope he uses to do that, I gave to him, and it has a strand of my hair in it, for extra strength. Well, my goddess hair, anyway."

"Really? I wish my hair was that strong." Moana mumbled.

"He used the same rope to slow down the sun. Oh and that time he fought that giant octopus? Did it at night, and I used the light of my moon to make it easier." Hina said smugly.

"Yeah, okay, we get it. You're all powerful." Maui said sarcastically.

"You brag enough, why can't I?" Hina hissed.

"Because I'm vain, and you don't suit vain." He replied simply.

Hina snorted and said to Moana, "I think he's just mad that he's not the only demi-god around these parts anymore."

"Wrong, I'm just mad it's _you_."

"Oh I'm sorry, did I crash your five thousand year-long party? It took me that long to prepare for my spectacular appearance."

"Hey, at least I was made here on earth. I didn't get kicked out of the world of the gods."

"You know I was wrongly banished, and I think it's backfired. This world is far more fun."

It was back and forth, all the time, their cruel and spiteful chatter. Moana had no idea how they managed it. One minute they got along like they were made for each other, then this happened. But, in a way, the insults flying from one to the next had a rhythm, a certain flow to them that instead of firing back and forth, flowed in a circle in which the two demi's were caught. And they never seemed to truly be bothered by the others words. Really, neither of them pushed particular buttons or said anything particularly cruel.

If anything, it was friendly banter with an ugly mask.

Maui was about to snap something back, but Moana interrupted. "Of course you can come along. As long as you protect us from demons and stuff, you know, little annoyances like that." Moana said with a smile.

"Does Maui count? Because I assure you he's rather harmless." Hina said with a large smile and a mocking nod. Maui sat up and looked at her with annoyance.

"I will kick you into the sea." He deadpanned. He then laid back down again, the children laughing at the small joyride of him sitting up. One of the little girls next to

Moana looked up, and with her thumb in her mouth, asked,

"Can I come on the next one?"

Both demi's and Moana laughed.

For the rest of the day, Hina and Maui helped Moana with the village. There were some additions to a family's hut needed to be made, as their children were growing older and needed some more space. Maui and Hina helped carry large palm-tree trunk to be cut down and stripped for the construction, while Moana helped the villagers strip the tree of its bark and fibres.

They helped fix any canoes that needed repairs, including patching up sails. It was then that Moana discovered Hina could Way-Find as well. When she asked how, Hina shrugged and said,

"All gods and goddesses do. Demi's included. We were the ones who taught the humans how."

Excited at another discovery about the world, Moana was in a very good mood for the rest of the day. It was temporarily tested however, when Ahonui came up to meet Hina. Moana wasn't sure how they'd get along, since Hina was so alike, and yet so unlike, Maui.

Some of the girls cooed at Ahonui as he walked past, and he smiled and shook his head with a laugh, before approaching where Moana, Maui and Hina were on Moana's biggest and favourite of her canoes. Moana was checking the sail for any need of repair, but this most recent voyage had been friendly compared to some others.

"Moana!" He called, and she looked down so see him standing next to the Canoe's side.

"Ahonui! Hi!" She said, and slid down the canoe's post professionally. When she landed, she saw Maui looking at Ahonui like he'd just gotten a bad taste in his mouth.

"Maui." Ahonui said in greeting with a smile, clearly trying to irritate him.

"Fish boy." Maui replied, without smiling.

Hina laughed, and said to Moana, "It's good to see Maui make friends."

"Ha bloody ha, Hina." Maui said, and turned to finish doing whatever he was working on at the time.

"Hi, I'm Ahonui." He said to Hina.

"Hina," She replied. He then turned to Moana.

"Your fathers looking for you." He said.

"Oh?" Moana said, concerned, and Ahonui saw. He smiled.

"Don't worry, he said it wasn't anything bad. Just some things about the next voyage. I can help these guys finish up here and then we'll go find you, deal?"

"Sure, thank Ahonui." Moana went to leave.

"Oh also," Ahonui said quickly, "Heihei is stuck in old man Kuikini's ceiling fronds again. I heard on the way here, and said you'd take care of it."

"You're joking." Moana said with a grimace.

"Nope. We don't even know how he got up there."

"Why didn't you just climb up and get him?"

"He hates me, remember!" Ahonui said.

"He's not the only one." Maui said with a chuckle from where he was working. Hina, Ahonui and Moana all rolled their eyes at the same time.

"He pecks me and screeches and everything every time I go to grab him, so I figured you'd have more luck." Ahonui continued.

Moana sighed. "Of course. Thanks. I'll meet you guys later."

She then hopped down to the beach and jogged towards more of her duties, hoping Maui and Ahonui didn't try to kill each other while she was gone. 


	4. Chapter 4: For better or worse

Ahonui had been telling the truth, Tui just wanted to know about their plans for the next voyage, and she spent hours with him and the council, and most of her voyagers going over plans, suggestions, and just relaying the basics. It took a lot longer, and far more effort, than what Moana had been prepared for, and towards the end found herself getting very impatient. She hadn't expected a whole meeting and planning session when she left the others. She secretly sighed to herself again as she sat between her mother and father in the council hut.

By the end, they finally had something close to a plan. It would take a week or two to get everything completely taken into account and everything thought of, but then they were free to leave. Moana was just wondering to herself whether Maui would be able to stand Hina for that long, when they were all dismissed.  
She immediately ran down to where the canoes were parked, and the others weren't there. She asked some of the villagers if they'd seen them leave, and they pointed towards the grove.

With Heihei comfortably perched on her head within her head wreath, Moana jogged towards the grove, and smiled to find that her friends were all alive, and none of them looking particularly grouchy.

All three were holding out catching baskets for those in the trees to throw down the coconuts.

"Hey, chicken perch!" Maui called, while deftly catching some more coconuts, showing off to some of the village girls, only a few years older than Moana, again.

"Palu, please back me up on the argument that Maui is a terrible show off." Ahonui said, not looking at Maui, probably for the best.

"We all know he's a show off." Moana said with a shrug of her shoulder. "HE knows he's a show off."

"But that's not what tiny over here is saying, and he's _wrong_ by the way." Maui said.

"I'm saying that Maui is an obvious show off, therefore is bad at it. You're meant to be subtle if you want to be impressive." Ahonui said, catching some more coconuts.

"And I'm sure you have plenty of experience in that field. You forget kid, I've been around a lot longer than you."

"So have I Maui, and I agree with tiny." Hina said from nearby. "If you're too obvious, the effect wears off."  
Moana couldn't believe they were arguing about this. Two demi's and a mortal arguing over which was the best way to show off. She'd say it was a macho male contest, but Hina was involved as well, so it was more like a 'power' contest, or maybe level of attractiveness. Either way, Moana found it utterly ridiculous.

"Of all the things to argue about," Moana said, picking up a catching basket of her own, "it's this?"

"Moana we have to figure out which of us is the most impressive, obviously." Hina said, twirling to catch some coconuts with flare.

"Obviously." Moana deadpanned.

No matter how much Moana avoided being dragged into the argument, she too started countering comments and giving her own point, until she herself was candidate for 'most impressive'. None of the others backed down, saying they couldn't give her credit just because she was chief's daughter and master Way-Finder. Maui had taught her how in the first place, and Hina had helped teach Maui. And Ahonui was just as good as her at it, just didn't have the title. And of course blood or family history couldn't come into it. One was a mortal worker, and the other two didn't even have families.

All up, it was a pointless and completely un-productive argument.

But it kept them laughing, and kept Maui's and Ahonui's dislike for each other to a minimal.

And this was the routine for the next two weeks.

* * *

Hina had practically moulded into life on the island like a cuttlefish against some rocks. Her and Maui continued their back and forth insults, somehow still managing to boast about themselves.

And Ahonui. Moana found herself spending more time with him than ever, usually when she was with the other two as well. Soon, they were going around as a group without even realising it. In all parts of the world, and even in the realm of monsters and realm of the gods, there was certain groups who associated with each other, friend groups that became quite exclusive, and this was Moana's. Maui, her older-brother by heart. Hina, her new best friend, and Ahonui, someone who was constantly making Moana's feelings confused, and often she had trouble going to sleep, wondering what was happening to her.

One day, when Ahonui had to go out fishing, Moana and Hina went to bathe in one of the rivers, reserved only for women. As before, Hina didn't seem embarrassed at all about being naked. Moana didn't around her own village women, it was just natural, but what if Hina thought her body ugly? She was a goddess after all. She had a similar skin colour to Moana, if not a little darker. Her body was a tad bit curvier, but Moana suspected that was the extra muscle she had hidden as well. And her tattoos! They were so beautiful and elegant, Moana was afraid that her own ones that she'd gotten two years before would seem insignificant and trashy. Moana knew that among her own people, her own tattoos were stunning and some of the most amazing ones in the whole village, but next to Hina's silvery curved lines, she couldn't help but be self-conscious.

When Hina easily removed her now-fixed garments and slipped into the water, she noticed Moana hesitate.

"Come on girly, I'm not one to judge."

Moana, a little more relaxed about what Hina said, and how she said it, got out of her own clothes and got into the water.

"Hey, so tell me about Ahonui." Hina said teasingly. "He's cute, I approve."

"Approve of what?" Moana asked with a nervous laugh.

"Oh come on, just between you and me. That guy. Is. Totally. Into. You." Hina punctuated each of her words.

"What? No he's not. We're just friends." Moana tried her best to sound convincing, and thought she did a pretty good job considering that she was lying not only to herself, but a demi-goddess.

"Stop pretending. I totally know he is. And I know you are too. Shouldn't you be marrying soon anyway?" Hina asked.

"Normally yes, but after Te Fiti and all that…I dunno, traditions changed. My people changed. My parents changed. I did too. I don't think anyone was prepared to tell me what to do, really."

Hina laughed at that and nodded. "I'd say that's about right. But back to Ahonui. And seriously, I know you're lying. I'm only young, but I know."

"Oh yeah, a couple of thousand years, young and spritely."

"Well I am compared to most of the gods." Hina said with a smile.

They both laughed, and then Moana sighed, resting in the cool of the water on a hot tropical day.

"I know I have feelings." She said quietly. "For him. Different ones that hadn't been there a while ago. But I don't want to rush to any conclusions."

"A very wise thing." Hina agreed with a nod. "You're not someone who's in a position to take risks like jumping into marriage. But still, I can see the way he acts around you. There's a particular smile only for you."

"Well the same with Maui!" Moana shot back with a teasing tone. "I'm not the only one who's got someone crushing after me. Maui has a smile only for you as well."

"Pffft, of course he has." Hina said with a snort, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He's had a thing for me for two thousand years."

"Oh reeeeeaaaaally?" Moana said. "Do you have a thing back?" she lightly poked Hina in the side with her toe underwater.

"Duh, obviously." Hina said, and Moana blinked at her blunt honesty. Hina was forever complicated, and she was starting to get why Maui got along with her so well, and yet disliked her at the same time. She was a puzzle he may never be able to complete.

"Well, have you ever-,"

"Gone out? Kissed? Secretly snuck away in the night? Nope."

"But, you like him!"

"Yeah but I'm not going to tell _him_ that, just like he won't tell me about _his_ feelings." Hina said with a raised eyebrow and a twisted smile. "We probably never will either. We'll skip around the subject but neither of us will be willing to touch it."

Moana stared at Hina. How could they do that? How could they do that for so long? The amount of times that Hina had allowed Maui to visit the world of gods without him becoming part of it. Had he tried that time to become immortal, just to be with her? Only for his request to be rejected by the other gods, and commanded to never try again. Had Hina turned away Te Tunaroa that many times because she had those feelings for Maui? But how could they continuously want to be with each other, but neither prepared to admit that they had feelings?

"Is pride really the only thing keeping you from telling him?" Moana whispered.

"Yes. Gods and demi's are extremely prideful, Moana. Maui and I may never ever say anything remotely nice about each other just to keep from the temptation. Besides, it's not like we're in love or anything stupid like that. Just a pathetic attraction between to gods of the sea and sky."

Moana went quiet, again stunned.

"Don't look like that girly, we've managed it for two thousand years, we'll manage it for thousands more."

"But it was different back then. You weren't both demi-gods."

Hina sighed. "That's true. It's weird. The feelings are stronger, and there's other…factors."

"Like what?"

"Well, you see, gods like myself aren't really…we can't really feel _physical_ attraction. We are fine with having feelings without the desire of the other god's touch. Some gods are lusty as hell, like Te Tunaroa, but others like myself didn't really ever… And now, as a mortal? It's different."

That explained a lot. Moana's grandma had told her that two people who fell in love, something like magic happened when they touched. When they held hands, if they hugged, kissed, anything, the 'magic' she spoke of, made the bond stronger.

Moana looked back through the past couple of weeks, and noticed that the only time Maui and Hina had touched was when Maui had clamped his hand over Hina's mouth to stop her swearing so much. Since then, he hadn't even nudged her, or tripped her up, or elbowed her, even in a friendly way. He did these things to Moana, but obviously that was different.

And the same with Hina. She didn't poke him or nudge him either, like she did to Moana.

They were trying not to touch so that their feelings didn't grow.

"What made you start to like Maui anyway? Most girls think he's pig-headed and too annoying." Moana asked, hoping to understand this complicated situation more.

Hina snorted a laugh. "He is, but he doesn't realise how different from a god he is. They're even worse in pride than we are. And they're all, 'we're the master of this,' and 'we hate this', 'let's smite them'. They expect the humans to do things for them, in exchange for small favours. Maui? He tries. He actually wants humans to love him, so he seeks their approval, their affection. And, believe it or not, he likes helping just because, well, he likes it. He likes the small gratitude's, even as much as a smile. He wanted humans love, that's it. He didn't need to be praised, they didn't need to make sacrifices or make him feasts.

That's what made him different from all the other gods. He did it _for humans_ , not for himself. All he wanted is love. And even now that he has it, he still helps because that's the right thing to do."

There was a long pause, as Moana remembered when she figured out why Maui had stolen the heart of Te Fiti in the first place, to give it to the humans so they could create life itself. So that they could love him, and his words, ' _it was…never enough,'._

"But, you said about him stealing the heart…" Moana said, remembering that Hina had been slightly cruel about it.

"I felt I touched a real nerve there, that's why I haven't really mentioned it since. I know now that the reminder hurts him, that at one point he was the human's enemy because of his mistake in trying to please them. Like all men, he pretends to be tough, but he's probably more sensitive than most women are anyway."  
Moana nodded, finally getting it. Hina understood Maui just as much as Moana did, and therefore having feelings for him, just different to what Moana did.

Moana and Hina got out of the river feeling cleaner and less sweaty than they had that morning. The days were hot and humid, and the nights were warm and also humid.

Maui always slept next to some rocks down by the beach, and Hina on the sand, but further west, neither of them able to see the other from where they slept, if they did at all. Sometimes Moana would go down and secretly check on them, and most of the time they were both awake, staring at the stars, or out to the sea.  
Sina had worried that they would be completely attacked by mosquitos, and if they were human, they would have been. But, it turns out that Demi-gods don't get bitten by mosquitos or sand flies. So they were both safe and comfortable down on the beach, where they felt most at home. Moana ever wondered if the two wanted to go visit the other, and keep each other company during the night. But when she asked Maui, he laughed and said he saw enough of the unsterilized-female-dog during the day. Hina said something similar, except she called Maui something worse, even though she'd already admitted to Moana her feelings, though Moana thought they were stronger than she had implied, the same went for Maui as well.

There were only a few days left until they went off for their voyage, hoping to cross even further this time to a land they'd heard of. After Moana had started the tradition of voyaging again, some people of her island left the mother island to colonise other islands and lands that weren't already taken by other peoples, of which there was only a few. So there were hundreds of islands out there just ready to be explored, each one different from the last but in a way all similar.

So, when Moana travelled, she sometimes came across others of her people that had moved away to inhabit a different island, and last time she had, they'd told of an island they'd never seen before. They hadn't had a chance to get closer to it, because there had been a violent storm building and they'd only seen it for a few minutes before they'd been blown away. Moana was determined to get there, to see what secrets it held.

Maui and Hina were to travel with them, with Ahonui as well, and this trip, neither of Moana's parents were going. They said this was a perfect opportunity for Moana to go on a voyage just with her friends, like a bonding trip. Moana thought that was a bit silly of them to think or say, but it had sense to it. Along the way, Hina might discover what she was going to do with herself no that she had been tossed to be a demi. Maui might discover that pride was not as important as having someone to love, and Moana might finally figure out what to do about her feelings for Ahonui. They might all learn something, and grow closer. Either that, or they'd discover things about each other that might make hate grow like a weed between them all.

And that was Moana's greatest fear. She wasn't worried about her bond with Maui – they'd already had enough fights to know who each other really were- but maybe Hina and Maui would go so deep into keeping their feelings secret, that drastic actions might occurred. And what if Ahonui discovered things about Moana that he didn't like?

Moana tried to stay positive though.

This trip was going to be fruitful either way, because she _will_ see what is on that island.

* * *

The night before the voyage was calming. A small breeze kept the air moving and kept most of the humidity from settling and causing discomfort. Fruit bats hung in the largest fig trees like dark clothes, occasionally fluttering their skin wings.

The birds were quiet and the only real noise was the whisper of tiny waves within the lagoon against the protected sand.  
Maui, with his back against his favourite rocks and his hook in his lap, was drawing patterns in the sand absentmindedly, not thinking of anything in particular, just letting his mind wonder. Memories mostly, were what kept him from being lonely in the night. That and the knowledge that he'd see Chicken Perch, Tiny and Pain-in-his-ass the next morning.

However much Maui didn't like Tiny, his tolerance for the boy was growing as he saw the bond growing between him and Moana. It would be hard for that little non-princess to find someone to love her if Maui just kept scaring every boy away. But hey. Isn't that an older brothers job? You annoy the little sister beyond imagination but if she came crying, you grabbed your giant magic fish hook and said 'where the f*** is he?'.

And besides, he had someone else to irritate the hell out of him now. But really, life would be a tad bit boring without Hina around. She'd always been his main competition for heroics and greatness, and now she was here all the time, he could finally rub her nose in the sand at how much he was accepted in this world, and that it would take her thousands of years to get the same feelings from the humans.

Maui kept swirling a stick through the sand, making patterns that intertwined with each other. He suddenly stopped however, when he peered at them with a little more concentration, and realised the patterns he'd made were familiar.

With an annoyed grunt he realised they were Hina's tattoos. He went to swipe the patterns away when someone behind him said his name.

"Maui?"  
He jumped slightly, then swept the tattoo likeness away from the sand, and ignored the fact that his tattoo miniature was giving him a teasing smile. Maui moved one of the larger teeth on his necklace in front of the tattoo to block away the annoying face. He then turned to see who was there.

"Yeah?" he asked.

From the tropical jungle stepped Moana's mother, Sina, and Maui would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised. What would Sina want with him.

He blinked at her for a moment before saying, "Oh, uh, hi." Five thousand years old and that's all he could come up with. He could feel his tattoo shaking his head in disapproval.

"Hi, Maui." She said. "May I sit?"

Maui have a single 'ha', before saying, "It's your island. I have no right to stop you."

She smiled sweetly before placing herself on top of one of the rocks.

The silence that followed was strangely not uncomfortable. Maui just wiped away the last bits of the drawing he'd done in the sand, hoping she wouldn't recognise any of it.

"Maui I…" Sina said, and sighed, obviously trying really hard to say something.

"It's okay, I'm not going to smite you." He said with a joking tone.

She smiled again, and must have gotten the courage she needed because she said, "Maui, I'm just here to ask you of a favour. Not even a favour, really, just… I don't know. Maybe it is."

"Anything, Sina. You allow me to show up on your island unannounced all the time, you allow me food and a place to stay. Even to accompany your daughter on voyages. I owe your family enough favours. Ask away."

She nodded, assured now. "Tui and I aren't going this time, with Moana. I was just going to ask, that maybe you'd keep an extra eye on her. I know Hina is very fond of her, and they're becoming very close. But I know what you mean to my daughter, and that she must mean a lot to you. Tui and I have known you longer, and this all probably goes without saying, but just please." She looked pleadingly at Maui, "Please, protect her. She is the most capable girl I know, but there are some things she just cannot do on her own. And you were there for her every time through this whole stage of her life. I guess I'm just asking for it to stay that way."

Maui smiled at her reassuringly, and said, "You have nothing to worry about. I don't plan on letting her get eaten by giant sea dragons if I can help it."

Sina laughed quietly. With a knowing grin, she added, "And make sure that charming Ahonui doesn't get too many ideas while I'm not there."

Maui cracked his fingers and put his arms behind his head as a pillow. "I've got my eye on that Tiny, don't you worry. There'll be no move-making on my watch."

"Thank you Maui."

"You're totally and utterly welcome." He said with a smile, and Sine stood to leave. Before she did though, she added,

"I liked the patterns by the way."

Maui's head snapped up in surprise to look at her, and a sly expression crept onto her face.

"They looked just like the real ones."  
Maui was so shocked, and a little embarrassed, that all he did was nod with a dumbfounded expression. She winked at him and walked away.  
 _  
Now I know where Moana gets that look…_ Maui thought, and stared at the sand in front of him, where the rub marks from his hand still rested.  
 _  
What is wrong with me?  
_

* * *

That night, Maui slept. He didn't want to think anymore, and you didn't think when you slept.  
But that itself was a huge mistake. Instead of thoughts, he had dreams. Honestly, they could have been worse, considering he knew what she looked like without clothes. But at the time it hadn't bothered her or him. Gods weren't really like that. But now his dreams had the threat of using it against him, it seemed a little bit more dangerous now.

His dreams kept well away from it, but they did wonder to the point of him almost touching her on occasion. Even her shoulder, or her hand, or the side of her face.

She'd lean her head against his shoulder and put his face to her neck.

Maui woke up completely pissed off and confused, which pissed him off even more.  
 _  
Why!?_ He thought angrily, and wanted to yell at the gods. _Is that why you threw her down here? Just to confuse the hell out of me!? She wouldn't let me get that close to her in a million years._

Maui paused, closing his eyes in frustration as he sat next to his rocks. He put his face in his hands. Did he want to get that close to her? Was she starting to mean something to him? He begged for it to not be so. He knew he couldn't be like that. Neither of them could. She was full of so much annoying pride! And teasing him relentlessly? How did any of this make sense.

Maui shook his head angrily, and stood up. He would just have to deal with it as he went along, hoping that this trip didn't make anything worse.

Maui reached down to grab his hook.

And it wasn't there.

"Oh come on!" He yelled, looking around angrily. This had to be her. he sleeps, and has to deal with her. He wakes up, and has to deal with her. he knew it was Hina. How could it not? There weren't any footprints, but he was sleeping close enough to the rocks that she would have reached down from on top of them and grabbed it, then given an enormous jump away.

Maui stomped down the beach towards the Canoes, knowing that's where'd she'd be with the others, getting ready.

It didn't take long to get there, and Hina spotted him first, and called,

"Hey big guy! You're late."

Technically, he was, but right now, he didn't care.

"Where is it you salty itch?" he growled angrily when he approached them.

"Huh?" she said.

"You know what! Where's my hook?"

Moana dropped down from her canoe as Ahonui paused while loading supplies on.

"I don't know." Hina said casually. "I didn't take it."

Maui laughed. "Whatever. If anyone was going to take it, it would be you!" he pointed

"Maui, it could have been anyone." Moana said lightly.

"Zip it curly, it was Hina." Maui snapped.

"If I was going to steal your one and only prized possession I would do it while you're looking right at me, Maui. It wouldn't be fun otherwise." Hina said, putting her hand on her curved hip. That did seem more like what she would do, but he wasn't going to admit to that thought.

"Oh right, so the ocean just stole it for kicks." Maui retaliated.

"It was probably the kids." Ahonui said.

"Really not looking for your opinion here Tiny." Maui snapped. Ahonui backed off comfortably, not really offended, saying,

"Just tryin' to help."

"He's right." Moana said. "Were you sleeping last night?"

Maui glanced at Hina, not wanting to admit it in front of her, but eventually said, "Yeah."

"Then they probably stole it early this morning while you were still out. Hina and Ahonui can stay here while we go look for it." Moana said.

"Fine." Maui grumbled.

Moana tugged at his arm, and he followed her grumpily.

"Did your tattoo see anything?" Moana asked, looking at the miniature brown Maui. The mini sagged and shook his head, raising his arms in a 'I don't know' shrug.

"When I sleep, he isn't active." Maui explained, trying to be lighter now that he was alone with Moana. He made a promise to Sina last night, to protect Moana. That didn't just mean from monsters and waves, but mentally as well. He wasn't exactly starting off great.

"Are you okay this morning Maui? You seemed really bent on it being Hina." Moana asked quietly, as they both looked around for a group of children playing with an over-sized hook.

Maui sighed. There was so many things going on in his head, something twisting in his heart. He didn't want to take it out on anyone, except maybe Hina, because she was the reason he was feeling like this in the first place. But a voice told him that it was useless to blame her. she didn't know she was making him feel like this.

If there was anyone who could help him with this, it was Moana. It's not like she had much experience in this field but, well, she'd helped him in the past, and maybe she had some more Palu words of wisdom for him.

"Moana, can I tell you something? And you must never ever and I mean never absolutely under any conditions, tell anyone!" Maui said, pointing at her to emphasize.

"Sure! Anything. Just, as long as it's not weird." She said, in a way only a little sister could. Maui sighed, preparing himself for a whole bucket of embarrassment.

"I'm a little pissed this morning because… you know what? I don't even know if it's a real reason."

"Tell me anyway. It might help, just to tell me." Moana said, and had the same expression she had when she helped him last time, when he told her about how he had become Maui.

Maui had to stare at the ground as they walked for a little bit, before saying, "Last night, I had these dreams."  
And he told her. She didn't interrupt apart from asking the occasional question. At the end, he felt a little awkward, but also better that someone else knew.

"Well, I think maybe you have to take your own time to figure out what this means. To try and maybe talk to her in a different way than you have ever before. you might find something new about her." Moana paused. "Maybe something new that you like."

"Ha. I think it'll be pretty hard to get her into a deep sob-story conversation. She doesn't really have one."

"But how do you know that, if you've never asked?" Moana said with a small smile.

Maui paused in his steps. The little way-finder was right. He'd never really asked her anything of the sort, so of course he didn't know if something deeper was going on inside her head. She was someone who used her casual and problem-free attitude to her advantage…

"I guess I don't." he said.

Moana crossed her arms and had to the look of 'I told you so' on her face.

Maui rolled his eyes. "okay, okay, you don't have to rub it in. let's just find my hook…"

And over Moana's shoulder he spotted it.

And Moana, as usual, had been right. The older children around ten and eleven years old were running around with it, with sea-weed in their hair and brown mud on their bodies, pretending to be Maui. The amusing part was that it took two or more to lift the thing.

Maui shook his head, smiling now, and walked over.

His shadow loomed over them as they played, and they all stopped to look up. In sync, they gasped.

He put on the meanest face he could muster, and then roared at them. They screamed and ran away, leaving his hook undamaged in the grass. He smiled and picked it up lovingly, twirling it around expertly.

"We should head back, we're late already." Moana said smiling when she saw he was once again happy.

They raced down the grassy slopes back to the beach, pushing and shoving at each other. Hina sat atop the mast of Moana's head Canoe and saw them approaching, Maui with hook in hand

When the two climbed up onto the canoe, she said smugly from above, "I think you owe me an apology which I doubt I'll ever receive."

"You know it." Maui said while sauntering around the deck, double checking everything on the canoe. He walked underneath the mast, which of course was the first of many mistakes. Hina must have dropped down at the precise moment because Maui was soon hit with a force and face planted to the deck.

"Ooops." Hina said, battering her eyelids. "Sorry. Didn't see you there."  
With his face pressed into the wood, Hina stepped off while laughing and he watched her help Moana prepare.  
 _  
This is going to be the worst trip, ever._


	5. Chapter 5 Across the sea and ocean

Despite what Maui thought or predicted, the trip so far had gone without too much bickering or banter between the two, so much so that Maui almost missed it. During the day, both of them were too busy helping Moana, either looking ahead as scouts, or helping on the boat with their superior strength to make tighter turns through rocky areas or the occasional light storm. Very rarely was Moana and her people fazed by the weather unless the storm became more dangerous than what they liked.

And during the night, unless there was a storm they had to help through, Maui and Hina rarely interacted. Every night Hina sat atop the mast and stared at the horizon, the moon, the stars, the water. She'd be the first to spot a whale or pod of dolphins, or the fluorescent beauty of microscopic ocean creatures that when touched, glowed. Maui could have bothered her, but he chose not to. Night time was her time and unless he had something particularly important or meaningful to say, which so far hadn't happened, he would not bother her.

On these nights he sat on the edges of the canoe, watching the ocean, but sometimes would rest against the bottom of the mast and sleep, just to make absolutely sure that he'd be ready for the next day.

But really, that was a lie he told himself. He knew deep down somewhere that the real reason was the comfort of her quiet presence, and that maybe shed drop down and talk to him one of these nights.

But they never talked.

On a few rare occasions, Maui would start to hum to ancient songs, and would hear Hina quietly catch on and hum as well. Those were the best nights. It seemed to calm the night shift as well, who there was only a few of. The other canoes surrounding them, about four this time, moved calmly next to the mother Canoe and all was quiet and calm at night.

One night, two weeks after they'd set off, when Maui had thought Moana was asleep as usual, she suddenly appeared from her small shelter on the canoe and sat next to him on the side of the boat. The night shift crew dipped their heads at her and said 'Palu' respectfully, but were soon back to work.

"Hey non-princess. Don't you need your ugly sleep?" Maui asked.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing." Moana replied slyly.

Maui breathed out a laugh quietly, and said, "I taught you too well."

"What, in the ways of being annoying?"

"No you were doing fine on your own with that. I just don't you how to do it better."

"Where'd you leant it from?" Moana nudged him as she asked.

"I'll give you one, big, circular silvery guess." Maui replied while flicking his eyes upwards.

Surprisingly no reply came from above, and both Maui and Moana looked up, but Hina was still staring at the horizon, the only thing moving was her hair.

Moana looked concerned. "Is she always this quiet at night?"

Maui shrugged. "Yup. Unless there's a festival on or a particular chicken perch wants to talk to her."

Moana shook her head. "Not tonight. She looks so peaceful."

"She can probably hear us, is just ignoring us." Maui said, and laid back against the deck. He could see Hina out the corner of his eye, and no matter how much he tried, he ended up looking at her. From this angle it was strange, but he could still see her form silhouetted against the stars. Moana was right, she looked so peaceful, tightly bound around herself and curled in the hook of the mast. From here she looked so small, like a child compared to what she is during the day.

Moana shuffled herself closer and leaned down to whisper, "Have you tried talking to her yet?"

"What? No. She's perfectly happy not talking to me, and I'm perfectly not happy talking to her. An arrangement. A deal. To avoid that topic." He whispered back, looking away from both Moana and Hina, to the stars right above him.

Moana sat up again and looked at him sadly for a few moments, then sighed and stood. "Well, I guess I need to get my ugly sleep."  
"I'd say you wouldn't need any more of it." Maui replied, and Moana kicked him lightly in the side, then walked back to the cover where her other crew were also sleeping.

* * *

 _So Maui is t_ _rying to avoid the topic as well,_ Moana thought to herself as she ducked into the tiny cover.

The men and women were separated by a small wall made underneath the shelter. There was a compartment beneath the deck of the ship also for sleeping, but they only slept in there on particularly cold nights. They enjoyed staying underneath the stars.

Moana found her space again among the other bodies of her island women, and laid down, and couldn't help thinking about whether Ahonui was awake. Maybe one night if Moana went out of the shelter, he'd follow, and maybe they could talk, or just watch the sea.

Again Moana got angry at herself for her pathetic wishful thinking. She was 19 but thinking like a fourteen-year-old. She had to be more mature about this. What she really wanted out of this trip was the exploration of the island. According to the people she'd heard it from, it was smaller than both Te-Fiti and Motunui, but not by much. That meant it was big enough to move there, if there wasn't already people there. Moana was so excited. Maybe this one had huge caves like the one she'd explored last year. Or maybe beautiful cascading waterfalls, maybe a wonderful lake, or hot-springs, or tiny bays full of rock pools. Maybe they'd find new types of fish, or see a strange bird. Each of the islands she'd been too had at least one of these wonders, and seeing fish or birds or trees and flowers that she'd never come across before always got her heart racing.

She remembered the words Maui had said on their first adventure, _'It was the water that connected them all,'_ and he was right. The ocean stretched forever and she had a whole world, no, MANY worlds, to discover. There was a realm of monsters, so maybe there was a realm of wonders which was not her own, hidden above or below. What strange and amazing things could she be about to find?!

Moana's heart rate started to slow, and her brain started to calm as she grew tired. Sometimes these exciting thoughts would keep her awake for hours, but she had plenty of time for that tomorrow, and she was tired. The last thing she saw was Maui, sitting up with his back facing her, staring upwards at what could only be Hina. Then, just as Moana's consciousness was slipping away, Maui turned around again and stared away from the demi-goddess of the moon.

* * *

The next few weeks had its up's and downs. There was no demons or creatures that leapt from the waters and attacked the boats, but the ocean was doing that fine on its own. In one of the worst storms, they almost lost two of their smaller canoes, and the only reason they managed to not get destroyed was Maui and Hina, pulling them back upright and scooping Moana's people out of the water, bringing them back to safety. Hina's growing power came in handy as it made it easier for her to push the boats upright, and Maui in the form of a whale pushed a lot of the people back to the surface, then Hina grabbed them out.

They did however lose some supplies, so Moana ordered that the next island they would come across they would collect some if there weren't residents, and if there was they would politely ask for some. Everyone agreed that they would unlikely be turned away. Those of the pacific islanders were not hostile without reason.

The best of days was when the wind was powering them forward and the waves were like rolling hills, flowing up and down and made a joy-ride for those on board. Maui and Hina made it even more fun by using their extra weight to throw the boats around more and make the voyagers yell excitedly, but never in panic.  
Ahonui too would sometimes grab the steering oars and swing them randomly side to side. On this trip they hadn't taken any children under 15, but even they squealed and jumped around happily.

They did stay on course though, and never forgot their real goal.

Four weeks into the trip, the voyagers were starting to show signs of natural malnutrition from the trip. Moana herself could feel her body getting a little more tired and less capable. They would have to find one of the islands, and soon. They could go for weeks and weeks more, but they would be worse for wear without a break, and that could lead to weakness, which could lead to danger. If her whole crew was not in good shape and a really big storm hit, they could lose some of their canoes, with or without the demi's help.

So it was a blessing that one day after four weeks, Maui was sitting atop the mast. Suddenly, he yelled,

"Land!" and involuntarily pointed. He shifted so that an excited Moana could clamber up and see what he was pointing at.

Hina grew to full size and made the canoe go down a little, but not enough to be a danger. She then joined Moana and Maui at squinting at the horizon.

"Yes!" Moana said. "Ahonui! Take us there!"

"On it, Palu." Ahonui said, so he and another steerer grabbed the steering oars and turned the main canoe towards their salvation. The other canoes followed with cheers.

Moana raised her voice and announced, "It's not our final goal, but here we'll collect more supplies and recover. Then to the other island!" Some more cheers were thrown up and everyone waited with excitement to have a small break from the constant movement under their feet.

* * *

The island was inhabited, that was the first thing that Hina noticed. She could see huts and people moving around.

"Moana," She called, and the Palu looked up.

"Are their people?"

"Yeah." Hina dropped down from the spot next to Moana, Maui and Ahonui. "I think Maui should transform, take you and Ahonui and you two do the talking first."

"But turning up on a giant magical hawk might scare them." Maui said. "Unless they're familiar with you."

"Wait, guys," Ahonui said, and then pointed back to the island, which they were now within a kilometre of. "They're bringing a boat out."

The other three turned and watched, as Ahonui was proven right and one of the islands canoes approached them from behind their reef. Moana ordered the other canoes to stop, and kept her own going forward to meet the approaching islanders.

When the two canoes were about a dozen meters apart, Moana walked to the front with her head piece on, trying to look as mature and strong as she could, made better by the present of Maui and Hina, and possibly even Ahonui's presence as well. The head of their boat looked to be the chief, a man of about Thirty, with leaves and feathers as his clothes and a tattoo curling around his neck and the top of his shoulders.

"Talofa lava!" Moana called.

"Talofa lava!" he responded. "You're voyagers?"

"Yes! From Motunui. But we lost some supplies in a storm. We were wondering if you would allow us to re-stock on your island?"

"You're welcome to it! My name is Talota."

"I'm Moana."

There was a pause, and Hina saw the chief's eyes widen in wonder.

"The Moana? Who saved Te Fiti?"

"Yes. This is Maui the demi god, who helped me, and Hina the demi-goddess. They're both my friends and will not bring any harm." Moana said. Maui and Hina took a step forward at the same time, nodding respectfully. Talota's face almost cracked with the size of his smile.

"Of course! Palu Moana, you are most welcome to anything on our island. Please, bring your other canoes in, and tell me everything!"

"Thank you." Moana called, and Maui signalled for the other Canoes to follow them in.

On the island, there was a lot of excitement when the villagers heard that Moana and Maui themselves had come to seek a small refuge, and that a new demi was thrown into the mix. Ahonui too, got some more attention from the girls, who Hina would glare at and they would see her look, and for their own good, walked away. Hina was not going to allow and battering-eyelashes pretty girl to ruin Moana's chances with Ahonui. No sir. That was her job as over-protective best friend.  
Talota was the most amazing of guests. He didn't beg or bow, but was friendly and open and immediately sat them down to eat.

"You should stay the night, get some rest, dance with us." He said jovially as they ate pork. "Although we'll have to be careful not to step on your rooster."

"Rooster?" Maui, Moana, Hina and Ahonui all said together.

Talota looked confused. "The chicken, right there." And pointed behind them. As one they all turned, and saw the notorious Heihei trying to peck at Bugs that were too quick for him.

"Huh, and the chicken follows," Maui said with a short laugh.

"It is an honour to have you here, Palu Moana, and with two Demi-gods! My village has been blessed. Will you tell me where you're heading?"

"To an island we haven't seen before. I'm trying to explore every island I can. I think I may have been to this one before, but there was no one here.

"Yes, we've only been here for about two years, after some connections to our people re-introduced us to the Way-finding secrets, thanks to you. We are the island of Hoku."

"Star." Hina said with a smile. "Island of the star."

He nodded. "So where is this island?" he asked.

"More to the north, maybe two weeks' journey there, if the weather is our Hoaloha, our friend." Ahonui said, them taking some more pork.

Talota's smile faded, and he looked around with caution. He and the four of Motunui were sitting apart from the others, and no one had apparently heard it.

"Is it quite large? Compared this island, at least."

Hina had seen his eyes go from care-free to alarm, and she instinctively looked at Maui, who must have had the same reaction, because he met her eyes, and then they both glanced at Moana, who remarkably stayed calm.

"Yes." She said, then asked curiously, "Do you know of it?"

He sighed. "You may need to come see this."

The group stood and started walking away from the main group. Talota led them away from the clear areas, away from the brightness and the food, onto a narrow path through the tropical jungle where the light was sprinkled and did not splash on their skin.

"My son and some others had taken a canoe to go on a short trip, just to hone their Way-Finding skill." He said, "We are still new to the art, and he was determined to make himself better. My son is always striving to be the best he can be, and I'm proud of who he has become."

The land rose a little, then started to fall again as they went over small inclines. Talota moved around rocks, and sometimes the oath was so narrow they had to walk single file, otherwise be scratched by harsh plants.

"He and his best friend were leading the trip, and apparently came across the island you are speaking of." He sounded grave, and as the land flowed down and started to level out, Moana could feel the Ocean nearby again.  
 _  
A secluded bay._ But why? She'd spotted most of their canoes only a little way from their main beach. Why was he leading them here?

"In the middle of the night the returned. And this was all that was left of their canoe." Talota pushed aside some large leaves, and revealed the suspected bay. And against the sandy shore sat piles of wrecked wood and torn sails, huge splintered mounts of what was once a canoe. Moana gasped at the sad sight. She had never seen a canoe so wrecked.

"What the..?" Hina whispered, stepping forward.

'My son and his best friend were the only two that survived. They managed to paddle the wreck back here, but they were weak and injured. This wasn't two moons ago." Talota said sadly.

"What did it?" Ahonui said, walking forward and inspecting the wreckage.

The chief shrugged. "They said it was a storm that looked like a snake, that sashed and bit at the canoe with flashing white and blue teeth."

"Lightning?" Moana said, and again the chief shrugged.

"What they say makes no sense. They're both recovered, and have been on the ocean again, but I have forbidden my people from heading that way. Please, if this is what really happened, don't go there. We don't know what it was."

Moana, staring at the wreck, remembered what those who had told her of the island in the first place said.

"The others, the others who had tried going there," she said to them, "They said a storm blew their group away from it."

"So you think something's protecting the island?" Hina said. "But that doesn't make sense. Talota's son wasn't a threat, and neither were those who first told us."

"It might be hiding something then." Maui said quietly. "A secret, maybe a hoard."

"The question is, is it hiding something dangerous? Is it protecting _us_ from whatever is there."

"But why wreck the canoe so badly?" Ahonui said. "Why not just blow it away, like the first time? Why try and kill those on it?"

"Talota, how close did your son get to the island?" Moana asked.

"Within a few hundred metres he said."

"That makes sense!" Moana exclaimed. "Those who told us about it had only seen it from a far distance, so weren't a threat. Whatever is guarding the island has something there is didn't want Talota's son to see or tell anyone else about, so when he got too close, he destroyed it."

Hina could hear the tone, see the look, and again glanced at Maui, who again caught her eye. The look held longer than last time, then they smiled at each other.

"How about it Girly?" Hina said, shouldering her softly. "Wanna see what all the fuss is about?"

"What?!" Talota yelled, "Did you not just hear everything I said? Something there is dangerous. It almost killed my son! Please, don't go there."

"Yeah, that's what we do." Maui said with a shrug. "And besides, he didn't have," he flipped his hook around a bit before finishing with, "Us."

"Can't we just stay away from the danger for once?" Ahonui said. Moana crossed her arms and shook her head with a smile and raised eyebrows. "uRGH!" He exclaimed, throwing his head back. "Fine! But if I die, I swear Palu, I'm going to haunt Heihei and peck you awake _every night._ "

"We'll leave our other Canoe's here with my people, or send them back home. We're not putting my fleet in danger just because we're going in." Moana commanded, and her friends nodded.

"Alrighty," Hina said with a grin, rubbing her hands together, "let's do it."


	6. Chapter 6: Nice weather right?

_Just remember i only own my characters and all other characters rights go to Disney etc. Also I absolutely LOVE IT when people reveiw my stuff or even pm message me so please do not hesitate, and tell me if i need improvements and stuff, apart from the occasional small spelling mistake and stuff, i just obviously miss those. But yes please give me reviews and just tell me what you do/ do not like about the fic. Tell me your fav characters or anything you want added as an addition or something! Anything! This story has gotten more attention than any of my other stories combined and I'm so happy about that, so please, tell me stuff. Thanks and enjoy!_

* * *

Naturally, when Moana and the others went to tell her people of their plan, almost every single one of them objected at once. Loto, Lelei's son, was the loudest in the objections.

"No Palu! If we returned without you, your parents will kill us! Especially when they here why."

"Then don't return. Move to the other side of this island and wait for us, asking Talota first." Moana replied sternly, quietening her crowd.

"How long will we wait?" he stated angrily.

Moana turned to Ahonui, looking at him expectantly. He bit his lip and had a thoughtful expression for a while, then nodded to himself.

"Five weeks. Two weeks there, two back and a week in the middle for exploration. Or recovery, depending on what happens."

Moana turned and nodded decisively at Loto, who sighed, still clearly unsatisfied.

"And if you don't come back?"

"We will." Hina stated plainly.

"But what if you _don't_?"

"We _will_."

Moana saw Maui go to grab Hina lightly by the arm, but at the last moment left it.

Moana took over again. "If we don't, which is unlikely," she looked at Hina, then back to Loto, "then return home and tell my parents what happened."

"Palu," Loto said pleadingly, "You're the last in your family's line, with no heir. If something happens to you, what will happen to the village!?"

"My parents will do everything in their power to fix that. But Loto, I believe that we'll come back. Can you as well? For us, and my people?"

Loto closed his eyes, passing a hand over his face, then nodded. "I don't really have a choice. We'll see what Talota can do for us, and we'll be waiting here for you."  
Moana nodded her thanks.

* * *

From there, Moana and her small group of large sized friends collected as much supplies as they could, far more than necessary, but as life had taught them, anything could happen.

It took a few hours, including double and triple checking everything on the Canoe. It was late afternoon by the time they were ready.

"Please stay the night." Talota begged. "At least get a decent rest before taking off again. You won't know when you can have your next sleep on dry land."

Moana, however determined to leave, did pause at that. Talota was also throwing a small ceremony to welcome their new friends, and that may be the last celebration Moana may ever see.

"I think maybe we should just leave." She said uncertainly.

Hina walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, and Moana looked up at her.

"I think we should stay the night." The demi-goddess said with a smile. "We'll be coming back, but not for a while at least. We should have a little fun, before we go finding a different kind of fun."

Moana was still unsure. "Maui?" she asked, who was leaning against the canoe. He shrugged with a smile, one huge hand on his waist.

"I'm a legendary dancer. Might as well show off my skill."

"Try with subtlety." Ahonui muttered, sitting on the edge of the canoe nearby. Maui pushed him off and he splashed into the sand and shallow water, making the others laugh.

Talota sighed with relief. "I'm glad to hear of it. The children will be excited to hear some of your stories."

Maui and Moana looked at each other with mischievous grins.

Ahonui sulked in the water. "They're not _that_ great when Maui tells them."

Maui went to grab him to throw him into deeper water, but Ahonui jumped up and scrambled from reach.

* * *

But of course the stories were fantastic and full of action and amazement, making the children frightened, and inspired, and sent them rolling with laughter. Hina, who had also joined Moana's performances, played the villain this time, being even scarier as she grew in size, which amazed even the adult villagers, and Moana's people smiled knowingly.  
Hina's extra size also made the fights scenes more realistic, and Ahonui was grateful to play a good guy for once.

But eventually it was getting late, and the four needed their rest more than anyone else. Ahonui and Moana went their separate ways to the different huts provided, as Maui and Hina made their way down to the beach.

* * *

Maui and Hina talked and laughed about the performance as they made their way down to the shore.

"Next time you should trip me up with the hook." Hina said with a laugh.

Maui slapped a hand to his forehead. "How did I not think of that!? Seeing you fall over would have been so worth it."

"For the children's entertainment." Hina said as a reminder.

"Of course, of course." Maui said, trying not to laugh.

They both reached the edge of the water, and fell silent. Normally Hina would walk west and take a place there, Maui to the east. For some reason though, neither of them moved.

"What do you think it really is? The thing around the island?" Hina asked quietly, looking at where the moon's reflection created a silver path on the water. The light shone off of Hina's tattoos and created a beautiful slightly glowing set of patterns. Maui was so tempted to reach out and brush a finger across one of the larger lines on her shoulder.

He shrugged. "I don't know, but we can take it. I mean, you, me, Moana, even that Tiny. We make a pretty good team." Hina nodded, then Maui added, "But it's better because I'm in it, obviously."

Hina went to hit him playfully, but pulled her hand back the last minute.

Maui didn't know what happened, but suddenly he reached forward and grabbed her wrist at the last minute. Immediately his heart jumped, and started beating faster. The urge to swallow in nervousness was so strong that it took much mental strength to resist. Where his skin was touching hers, it buzzed and tingled. He tried not to breathe too quickly like his body wanted to, and his brain fought his heart to not grab her other wrist.

She raised an eyebrow at him with a mocking pout. "You better not snap my wrist."

"I'm just wondering how easy it would be." Maui said as an excuse.

"It's good to know you're not a psychopath or anything." Hina said with a roll of her sarcastic written eyes. Maui shrugged smugly in response, then let her wrist go. The buzz faded. And he wanted it back.

"Night Shiny-headache. Don't have nightmares." He said mockingly, trying to cover his feelings up.

"Night Rock Head. Don't have any dreams." She replied, looking at him as if she knew something, and Maui tilted his head in confused, feeling his heart trip over in panic, hoping like all hell that she hadn't meant what he was thinking. She laughed at his expression, then twitted her fingers at him in a wave, and walked away, leaving Maui completely confused and panicked at what she might have meant.  
 _  
Moana wouldn't have told her, would she?_

Maui wouldn't think so, but then how? Maybe she had just said it to freak him out. She would do that, if he knew anything about her, it was that. Messing with people's heads, confusing them. She used to toy with other gods for days, months, years at a time until finally admitting she was screwing with their minds.  
But, that look. Like she'd known.

* * *

Moana hadn't told Hina anything on purpose. Of course not. Hina suspected Maui had made her swear not to tell anyone, and she respected that. She'd done the same thing.

Because Maui wasn't the only one who'd had dreams, and the way Moana had accidentally let it slip, Maui's and Hina's had been linked that night. The first thing Hina had thought after waking up then was something along the lines of ' _wtf…'_

She knew Maui had probably thought the same.

When Hina had told Moana about it, the girl had looked a little nervous, although Hina wasn't uncomfortable about it at all. Shit happened in life, shit happened in dreams. Hina had actually been laughing when she'd told Moana.

But the Moana had then said, trying to be subtle, that,  
 _  
"Wouldn't it be weird if your dreams are linked, and he like, weirdly dreamt the same thing? Wouldn't that be weird? That would be weird."_

As soon as Hina had heard and seen that, knowing Moana was a terrible liar, Maui must have had the same thing and told Moana as well. After all, he did trust her more than anyone else.

So tonight, Hina had wanted to mess with Maui a bit, and she'd seen every single moment of his sudden panic. She was almost skipping, that's how proud she was of herself for confusing him so much.

But her cruel happiness was short lived when she felt her pulse go through her wrist, and she could almost still feel the pressure there from his grip. She looked at it, expecting there to be a mark or something. But among the stars and moon's light, there was nothing there. Just the imprinted feeling. She was ashamed that her heart had jumped when he'd grabbed it, not in fright or fear, but something else. And something else, and intense buzz that had gone to her heart.

No matter how much she got angry at herself and tried to deny it, she knew she'd wanted him to pull her closer. But was completely relieved he hadn't.

None of this could happen. It just wasn't allowed to.

Hina found a grassy spot on the edge of the sand, connected to the brush further up the hill. She sat down. She tried so hard not to, but eventually she turned her head and looked back at where she had walked away from Maui.

Except for an empty beach with shadows of Canoes in the background, she saw his bulky form sitting there, his long wavy hair stirring behind him in the breeze, his hook resting in his lap. She couldn't pick out his details from here, but she did watch as he put a palm over his face.

Hina flopped to the ground and turned over angrily, her face contorted at disgust with herself. She closed her eyes determinedly, begging to get to sleep soon. There was the threat of dreams if she slept, but she'd prefer that. At least dreams weren't real.

* * *

It was before dawn the next morning when Ahonui woke up. He sat up and yawned, stretching. His mind then reminded itself of the journey and 'adventure' before him, and he stifled a groan of annoyance. He'd completely forgotten. Certain death awaited him. And not only that, but he had to be on the boat with an especially grudge demi-god, an extremely irritating demi-god, and a mortal girl who he found it harder and harder to look at for only a few moments at a time.

The more he was with her, the more he wanted to stare at her. The more he wanted to tell her.

Ahonui shook the thoughts away and made his way out. Across the cleared land, he saw Moana stepping out from her own sleeping place. They met in the middle.

"Should we just leave without telling the people?" Ahonui asked her as they met in the blue-grey of before dawn.

She nodded. "I want to leave as soon as possible."

They walked down the grassy slopes to the Beach. At first Ahonui spotted what he thought was a rock that hadn't been there yesterday, but then realised it was just Maui's form. There wasn't enough light to see him properly.

Maui must have heard the sound of shifting sand under Ahonui's and Moana's feet because he turned and smiled.

"Morning chicken perch." He stood, and Ahonui grew curious when he swept one of his huge feet back and forth, ridding of something drawn in the sand. He didn't say anything, but squinted at Maui curiously, who asked,

"What?"

Ahonui looked away and shrugged. "Nothing."

Maui glared, then looked back at Moana. "Ready to go?"

"More than ever." She said happily. "I left Heihei in a basket back in the hut, so you can't call me chicken perch anymore."

"Ha. We'll see about that." Maui said. "Let's go." He hopped up onto Moana's canoe, and Ahonui followed. Both started moving ropes and checking sails, when they heard Moana clear her throat. Both males turned. The Motunui Palu had her arms crossed and raised her eyebrows.

"What?" They both said.

"Aren't we forgetting someone?" she said, clearly annoyed. Ahonui could have slapped himself in shame. Of course, Hina. He felt the guilt twist his gut.

 _Great. Your chances of getting her to like me now are dwindling._

He did feel better though, when Maui said, "But you said you left the chicken in the basket?"

"Hina!" Moana exclaimed angrily.

"Oooooh. Yeah. Right. Forgot." Maui said with a chuckle. Moana's jaw hung in shock. "Well if you're so concerned, go get her!" Maui said, unconcerned. "She would have caught up anyway."

Moana huffed at him, clearly not impressed, then stomped down the beach.

Ahonui turned to Maui, who was casually humming as he pulled some more ropes.

"Uhh, Maui?" he asked.

"Yuh Tiny?"  
 _  
Gods I hate that nickname,_ Ahonui thought with pout, but didn't say anything about it. "You didn't actually forget about Hina did you?"

"Nope. Was just hoping Moana would. As usual though, she never forgets her friends. You did though." Maui said, clearly feeling good that Ahonui had seemed like a complete jerk in front of the girl he was trying to impress.

"Well, I didn't forget, I was just…" Ahonui stopped when he saw the sceptical expression on Maui's face. He drooped. "Okay, fine. I forgot. But I had other things on my mind."

"Like Moana?" Maui said immediately saying it in a voice that suggested he had the mental maturity of a ten year old. He even battered his non-girly eyelids. "Were you thinking about kissing her?" Maui puckered his lips and made embarrassing kiss like noises.

"Maui, you're disgusting, and disgraceful." Ahonui deadpanned, slapping an oar against Maui's puckered face, and walked past him on the deck.

Maui grabbed the oar, annoyed, and rubbing his nose and lips painfully, then laughed at how tense Ahonui must have looked.

"Oh come on kiddo." Maui said, poking Ahonui in the back. "I mean, why not? She's master way-finder, her best friend is the greatest demi god in all the pacific islands, her _other_ best friend comes a close second in the same category, she's the daughter of the chief, and she so is. Into. You." Maui listed everything on his fingers.

"Even if I did want to be hers," Ahonui was trying to sound bored and unconcerned, "Wouldn't you just kill me for it anyway?"

"Yeah, duh. But I'll give you points for trying." Maui said enthusiastically, twirling his hook. "I know you have those mortal boyish feelings for her, just admit it."

Ahonui had had enough. This was none of Maui's business. So, the tides turned.

"Oh yeah?" Ahonui said loudly. "Well if I have 'mortal boyish feelings', then what the hell do you have for Hina? Are they just deeper, and you're too afraid to admit it, or are they more shallow because you're too afraid to care about anyone except Moana!?"

He expected he would be thrown into the sea, or hit lightly in the head. But it was a lot worse. So, so much worse.

Maui did nothing.

He didn't even argue.

He barely even moved for a few long moments.

But he glared the whole time.

He glared, then turned and did his own thing.

And that's when Ahonui knew he'd just hit something real.

* * *

The girls returned happy and chatting as usual, and the group left before the sun had risen, heading out of the safety of the lagoon and into the rougher conditions of the ocean.

Things were tense between Maui and Ahonui, more than usual. Moana kept looking at them with concern. They tried avoiding each other as much as possible, and neither said a word to the other. They didn't seem to have a problem with Hina or Moana, which was a relief. They acted normally around the girls, but when in close proximity, they both tensed up and couldn't help but look more than irritated. It wasn't a pathetic harmless tense. It was the tense that could snap.

Moana knew she would have to fix things, and soon.

When nightfall approached on their first day back on the sea, Moana was trying to think of a plan to talk to them. The first option was obviously when Ahonui went to sleep, she could talk to Maui. It seemed safe enough to do, even with Hina around. She had again taken up her habit of sitting atop the mast, and according to Maui, never really talked.

Maybe she was focused on memories long past, or just on what might become of her in the future. Either way, Moana was sure even if she was listening in, if she could hear from where she was, she wouldn't say anything to anyone else. Why would she?

It was late when Ahonui finally laid down, giving Moana one last smile. Moana then waited almost half an hour for him to fall asleep, before shifting from where she herself had laid down. She'd had to work hard not to fall asleep. A whole day moving ropes and gauging the sun and staying in the heat made one such person tired, especially then working late into the night.

Moana yawned quietly, then looked up to find Maui, who was only sitting a few feet away on the edge of the canoe. She carefully and quietly sat up, then stood and made her way over. Without saying anything she sat next to the great hulking demi-god.

After a few moments, he nudged her slightly with the side of his arm, and smiled at her. she knew it was safe to say something now, but she was scared she'd upset him and make things worse. But she just had to risk it.

"Is there something that happened, between you and Ahonui?" She said it quietly, hoping not to wake Ahonui and that Hina might not hear them from where she sat.

Maui took a big breath in through his nose, released it, and nodded. "Things were said."

"You don't want to tell me?"

He shook his head. "Can't. But it's not as bad as we're making it seem."

So he knew. He knew Moana was noticing, knew she'd see something was wrong. Of course he would. He knew her best.

"Well, are you two able to make up over it?" Moana asked, sounding hopeful. "If it's not as bad? We can't afford any arguments right now, and I don't want two of the people I care about most wanting to throw each other off the boat. Especially because of where we're going."

What she was trying to say is that she didn't want him to bail again like he had three years ago, when Takar had almost destroyed Maui's hook, and he had left her to fend for herself. He did come back, sure, and Moana had never thought he'd leave again while they were in that much danger, but she didn't want to even risk the possibility. This was a big mission, and she needed him every step of the way.

Maui took a long time to respond, and Moana saw his hands turn into fists for a few moments, then he relaxed and nodded.

She threw her arms around his neck in a hug.

"Thank you Maui." She said, feeling him hug her back.

He chuckled quietly, "It's okay chicken perch."

* * *

So the next day, Moana and Hina worked the sails, laughing and chattering as always, this time about the possibility of all the star-sprites, little spirits of the sky that shone in the stars, all coming to visit their big sister the moon.

"They loved and resented me, because some nights I shone so bright that they dulled." Hina explained. "But they're sassy girls, quicker and certainly harsher than I am, and they're the most terrible flirts. Anything resembling a male humanoid and they're onto it."

Moana laughed. "I want to meet them!"

"Oh they'd love you girly. They love to hang with sweet girls like you, it reminds them of what kindness was before they became snappy sprites."

As the two girls laughed and talked and teased, Maui sat calmly with the steering Oar. Ahonui was hanging from a rope out the back of the canoe to check the steering oar for any irregularities in movement, for crack and picked off any ocean life that had clung to the wood. He was the one who did it every day to all sides of the boat, because as a fisherman he was least likely to be freaked out by the creatures there, and was not afraid to cut his fingers on barnacles and such.

Moana was terrified of getting cuts on her hands, because she liked to have full potential of her hands and fingers for if something went wrong. Unnecessary pain during an emergency would not help at all.

Maui considered cutting the rope Ahonui was on just a little bit, so it looked like it snapped and the boy fell into the water without Maui having anything to do with it, but then the demi remembered his promise to Moana last night, and decided against it, although with a twisted frown.

The two girls were distracted, and Ahonui was pulling himself up without so much as a grunt. Maui could, however grudgingly, see why Moana was attracted to the boy. He was strong, for a mortal, human thingy, whatever. And he knew his way around a boat. The ocean seemed to like him well enough, occasionally splashing him tenderly.

And most importantly, he never tried to tell Moana what to do. He understood that she knew what she was doing and that she wasn't a girl, a woman now, who was going to back down from danger. That this life of adventure, discovery and the occasional haunting danger was the life she was forever going to live, and that she needed someone who would happily live it with her.

Ahonui had barely objected to coming along. He didn't look worried and didn't say anything about being concerned. He followed her lead, and Maui hated the fact that he had to give credit to the boy for all these things. But he did. End of that.

As Ahonui stood and wound the rope around it's allocated post, Maui took a deep breath and tried not to sound too hostile when he said, quietly so the girls didn't hear,

"Hey, Ahonui." Using his real name felt weird in his mouth.

The boy looked surprised when he turned. Since the argument about the girls, they hadn't spoken a word to each other. "Uh, yeah?"

Maui flicked his head as an indication for Ahonui to come closer, his arm causally resting against the oar. Ahonui looked at him with concerned eyes, then made his way over tensely and cautiously, ready to spring away. Maui felt good about the fact. At least the boy remembered who could smite who, and Maui was still an impressive sight.

"Look," Maui said with a sigh, eyeing the girls to make sure they were distracted, "You and I need to patch up over whatever was said the other day."

Ahonui seemed to be in shock a bit. "Did Moana talk to you or something? Because this coming from you, no offense, is a little-,"

"Surprising, I know. And yes, she did. So shut up and listen."

Ahonui didn't even look offended, just a little scared.

"We can't go across the whole ocean hating each other because a few things said about a couple of girls. I'm better than that, and you, maybe possibly are a little bit better than that as well slightly." Maui was finding it hard to be sincere about this. He was used to being sincere. Last time he had tried, Moana had looked uncomfortable because the broken properties of a hook at the time had turned his head into a shark head without him noticing.

This time though, it was just plain weird.

Ahonui sighed, and turned his head to gaze at Moana. Maui watched him with interest. There was a smile trying to make its way onto Ahonui's lips, and his chest seemed to swell a bit.

"You're right," Tiny said, "I'm sorry for what I said."

"I guess I am, for teasing you at least." Maui had worked so hard to say sorry, but it had felt better than he'd thought it was.

Ahonui held out his hand for Mui to shake. The demi god rolled his eyes and placed his much larger hand in Ahonui's and they shook. Then Maui flicked his arm up with the boy still attached and threw him off the boat. Maui laughed as the boy came back to the surface, and had to swim hard to catch up, and Maui was glad the ocean only raised itself and shook what could have been a 'head' at Ahonui when he asked for some help. Things were back to normal.

* * *

And things continued to be normal for days, and those days stretched into a week, then slowly and surely it crept up to two weeks. Moana was expecting the island soon, as was the others. They had little trouble on the way. The storms weren't too bad and the days were not as blisteringly hot as they could have been. Being on the ocean meant most days it had a breeze or wind of some kind, which cooled their skin and pulled their canoe along. There was beauty in every day for Moana, especially now that Maui and Ahonui had clearly gone back to normal terms.

Hina and Moana talked about everything they could think of. Not just hair and skin and the ocean, but the gods, goddesses, the spirits. They talked about other island and legends about other people's so far across the ocean that the sun barely shone and their skin was as pale as limestone, and other places where the land was so large and dry that the people were the colour of tar.

Of course these were only stories and the places and people didn't really exist. People the colour of limestone? That was plain ridiculous.

One of the final nights came and it was nicely warm and the stars made Mona and Ahonui yawn until both resigned to sleep. Moana was probably going to dream of the adventure ahead, Maui thought with a fond smile.

Hina was in her usual spot and Maui was again on the deck, leaning against the mast where she was.

Maui felt that if he was going to say anything, or give a hint, or try to figure out what was going inside himself, and maybe inside her as well, it might as well be tonight. His mind and heart were growing frustrated, as was his tattoo miniature of himself, constantly pushing him to say something nice during the day, then face-palmed itself when of course he went with a tease or nasty comment. He wasn't much of a romantic, something that he could probably learn from Ahonui, who had held Moana out by the waist as she stretched and touched the backs of surfacing dolphins. Moana had lit up with delight at that, and Ahonui had looked at her again with that fond smile of his.

It was ages and ages this night before Maui built up the courage to climb up the mast of the canoe.

He grabbed onto one of the hooks and hung there casually, leaning with the mast, Hina just above his shoulder. For a while he didn't say anything, just hung there and stared where Hina was staring, across the never-ending ocean.

He then sighed.

"Hey Shiny." He said quietly, still using her nickname.

It was a few moments before she responded, with the smallest and cutest of smiles.

"Hey rock head."

He smiled to himself in relief, then looked at her. "I can go back down if you want to be-,"

"No. Stay." She didn't elaborate. She sounded so calm, and young, and wise in a way. Everything that Maui wasn't, and everything that _she_ wasn't, during the day at least.

They were both to an extent in their own way, but not how she sounded right now.

"Do you miss it?" he asked. "Being all godly and the like."

She laughed a little. "Honestly? Not really. All the other gods didn't really like me. Either that or they liked me too much, like Te Tamaroa. Obsessed over me, or avoided me. I didn't really have…"

"Friends?"

Hina shook her head. Maui smiled knowingly, "I know how that feels. Thousands of years with humans but none of them really, you know, understood. Not until Moana, and her people."

Hina smiled at him, with so much kindness, and looked over her shoulder at where the young Palu slept.

"I had the star sprites, but they were so exhausting. They never stopped burning. I waned and I grew and went dark for a few days every month. I've never felt like this for anyone." She was still looking at Moana. "I've never felt so at home."

Maui, again without realising what he was doing, reached forward and brushed some hair from her face, pushing it all the way away from her face and around her neck, where some of the tattoos curled, but the bulk of it was further down on her arm and torso. Maui brushed his thumb over where the tattoos curled on her neck. Hina closed her eyes, and didn't move. So many things Maui could have said, but he couldn't think of a single thing. That feeling was back in his hand, that buzz that went straight to his heart and made it beat faster.

The feeling was getting too strong, so he pulled his hand back and stared at the sea again, but didn't have the strength to move. No, strength was the wrong word for it. It was the motivation to move. Nothing made his want to move from where he was.

He felt her hand this time, on his shoulder, her fingers softly following some of the patterns there. A shiver went down his spine and goose-bumps raised on him all over. He involuntarily turned his head, looking at her again. She was staring at his shoulder, absent minded.

He leaned forward and said, "Do you want to come sit on the deck with me?i'm not sure if i can hang like this for very long." he added a smile at the end, something casual and trying not to be 'making a move'. he just wanted to sit with her.

He saw her hesitate, her fingers pausing in their trail, then she shook her head, and Maui felt his heat start to hurt at it. She then withdrew her hand, and the buzz was gone.

"Maui," she said it so quietly he almost didn't hear it. "I'm not sure if we can do this."

He knew what she meant. Everything. Them. They. For some reason both of them were so hesitant. Maybe it was the pride, or maybe it was something else. Whatever it was, these feelings were too intense to follow without caution, and maybe follow at all.

He nodded, however much it hurt. He was about to climb down again, when she placed a hand on his shoulder, and the buzz was back. He almost flinched away, the feeling was too great. But when he looked at her, she wasn't looking at him. Her hand too, had not gone there tenderly.

She was staring at the horizon.

And there, as small as mini-Maui's arm, was a dark smudge above the ocean. It was night, and harder to see, but before the stars and light of the moon it was unmistakable. An island.

"We're here!" Maui said, then grinned widely, and jumped down on the deck noisily. The 'thud' woke the two mortals.

"Get up chicken perch!" Maui said, walking over quickly. "We've made it."

Moana blinked away sleep and was on her feet. She almost tripped in her haste but Ahonui caught her and helped her back up, but neither of them realised the possibly tender moment because both were staring before the Canoe.

Moana saw it and took in a huge breath in excitement. Maui always thought her mouth and eyes extended ten-fold when she got this excited, which happened _every_ time they saw a new island. But this time, Ahonui, Maui, and Hina as well had the same reaction.

"Wait," Ahonui said, his face dropping. "But why haven't we seen any seabirds?"

"Don't spoil the mood Tiny." Hina said, dropping down.

"I can't believe we made it." Moana said, standing proud and all tiredness dashed from her eyes.

"We got here. Now we can beat the crap out of whatever is over there, then I call for a vacation." Hina exclaimed.

As the others were half-way through agreeing, a huge thud hit the canoe, and they all got knocked to their feet. Above them, clouds suddenly formed, growing larger and larger and darkening to a deep grey.

Maui helped Moana stand as Hina and Ahonui ran to the steering Oar.

A voice so loud came from either the sky or the sea, none of the group could tell. "You'll have to beat the crap out of me first."

Rain started patterning on the wood of the canoe, then grew louder as the drops grew larger, almost hurting against Moana's and Ahonui's skin.

"What the hell is that?!" Moana yelled, gripping onto the main sail-rope as the winds suddenly exploded the air around them and were throwing the boat into random directions, as the waves started to get higher and higher.

They heard the great voice laugh.

Before them, the water churned and twisted and bubbled unnaturally in a great whirlpool, but it didn't pull the canoe dangerously close. From the centre, rose what Moana first thought was an island or a great rock. Then it kept growing into a long and slender neck, that then bend at the top and she recognised it as a defined head. The clouds seemed to be drawn to it and wrapped around it's body in a thin layer of twisting mist. It bent it's head towards them, and two great black eyes as shiny and smooth as the most perfect pearl. It laughed again, opening a great jaw that had many sets of teeth, and even scarier was the presence of a second jaw within it.

The creature was so huge it could have been a challenge for Te-Fiti to punch in the face.

"Te Tunaroa!" Hina and Maui yelled together in rage, and Moana's heart skipped a beat in its rapid-growing pace. The rain was stinging harshly against her skin and she had to squint to see anything.

The eel god grinned down at them, his mouth larger than their canoe. "Hello Hina, Maui. I knew you two were popping by to visit so I thought I'd meet you half-way."

"You Bastard!" Hina yelled. "What are you doing to that island!?"

"Bastard? Oh that's a bit harsh isn't it Hina dear? And straight to the pointed questions, couldn't we talk about the weather or something."

Moana wasn't listening so much anymore. The rain and the crashing of the sea was making her lose her strength quickly, and her hands were slipping on the rope. Her fingers and hands were calloused from years of being on a canoe, but no amount of scars could keep her holding onto this rope forever.

She started to slip as the canoe rose and then crashed down again on another wave, tilting so dangerously. She screamed as they hit the water violently.

"Moana!" Ahonui yelled, but couldn't get to her, he was helping Hina with the oar.

But the pressure on her hands released a little and she was thrown forward, as huge strong arms pushed her against the mast and pressed her there.

"Hold on as much as you can!" She heard Maui yell over the rain.

"Oh Maui." Te Tamaroa clicked a tongue as if disappointed. "Why do you even waste your time getting attached to humans? And you Hina, doing the same? And sticking around that un-classy bulk of muscle speaks wonders about your level of intelligence. I thought you were smarter than this."

"Screw off you slimy bitch!" Hina yelled again, grunting as he pushed against the weight and strength of a reckless Oar, trying to control in with Ahonui's help. Her supernatural strength was possibly the only thing keeping it from completely turning them over.

"I imagine the conditions you're currently in is causing you to be so uncharismatic. You're far more lively when you are with these other three." Te Tamaroa said. "But, anyway, I thought if you're allowed to have friend come visit me, I might as well bring some of mine as well."

There was more bumping of the boat, as more eels, some the size of trees and some only the length of Hina's leg, pushed their heads from the water, a very un-eel action. Then they all screeched and hissed, and came towards the Canoe.

"I'll meet you all back at my place then." Said their king who sunk back under the waves, as those on the canoe braced for a fight.

The waves calmed from being the size of hills, to only half the size of a small canoe. Moana leapt from where she was gripping the mast and grabbed her signed Oar, raising it as her legs automatically braced and stretched with the movement beneath her. Maui gripped his hook, while Ahonui rushed to grab one of the fishing spears. He threw Hina a Toki hidden below deck, made of hardwood and with small shark teeth along the back of the head, and the handle was curved.

Moana gripped her oar and waited. The first eel was only small compared to the others, and rose near Hina's leg at the back of the canoe. Moana leaped and jabbed at its head with the butt-end handle of her Oar. They were then everywhere. Heads popping up, screeching and hissing. Moana's arms moved on their own, and she was almost screaming every time one of the hideous creatures came at her, their double-jaws snapping and biting at anything, the canoe included. The smaller ones doing this wouldn't be a problem, but soon she heard snapping and cracking like a Canoe against rocks, and turned to find one of the largest ones had bitten down on the side of the deck.

Hina leaped forward with the Toki and used her extra strength to bring the weapon down onto its head, and the only description that would be accurate would be that it's head exploded. The deep red of blood looked black in the night. They looked like moving spikes rising from the water, or over-grown leeches leaping forward and snapping at their legs.  
Maui hooked on under its jaw and threw it so far its shape disappeared. Ahonui was swiping left and right and stabbing when the opportunity arose.

But there was more creaking and cracking from below. Moana jumped away from where the sounds were worse, but it was growing louder. Some splintered wood flew away as a dark head burst up through the middle of the deck. Ahonui leaped forward with a yell and stabbed it through the eye, and the screeching scream it emitted hurt Moana's ears, but she was too busy holding one off herself.

More creaking, more snapping, and another one came through. Spoon, the biggest of the eel princes were thrashing through the wood and destroying more and more of Moana's lovely Canoe. Her favourite canoe.

Then there was a scream, and Moana spun her head. Hina was gripping to the steering oar, stretched like a rope, because a large one had bitten into her leg and was trying to pull her off. All three of the others leaped to help, but Maui got there first. He went to swipe at its head, but before any of them, including him, could have done anything, another large one leaped and latched onto her shoulder.

She screamed and the oar she was holding onto snapped, and she was ripped from the canoe.

"HINA!" All of them screamed.

In their distraction, another slimy black creature leaped and wrapped around Ahonui's arm, another one leaped and wrapped around his leg.

He managed to look up at Moana with sad eyes before he too was taken away.

Moana stared at where he had disappeared into the blackness of the ocean.

"Moana!" Maui yelled, and she spun automatically and smacked at the air with her oar, hitting whatever eel had been behind her. Then she felt Maui's back pressed against her, and a new determination grew in her in that small precious moment, and soon her and Maui were working together like never before. Bashing at whatever was coming at them, and stabbing down at the heads coming through the wood.

Maui's hook lit up, and he leaped upwards several hundred feet, then came plummeting down. Moana ducked as he hit the deck, bashing into one of the eel's skulls. The vibration from his landing caused a huge wave that pushed whatever was surrounding their boat at the time, away, and stunned them in the process.

Moana panted, and then felt herself sob. She almost fell to her knees but managed to keep the strength to stand up.

Maui wasn't breathing nearly as hard, but he had gripped his face silently.  
"Maui." Moana said, her lip shaking. He raised his head, but in the darkness and rain, Moana couldn't see if he looked as bad as she felt.

He hugged her, and she knew that he did.

Then they heard the screeches again.

Maui sighed, still holding her. Then he pressed his forehead and nose to hers, a sign of affection among her people which Maui had never done to her. Then he sniffed, and  
Moana recognized it as the sniff of someone crying. Moana and he let go of each other, then gripped there weapons.

The broken canoe swayed as it wanted on the ocean, and he water was starting to churn as the now even angrier eels returned.

Again the fight began, but Moana felt the adrenaline had disappeared in the break, and now it was the hardest fight of her life. She hadn't physically fought Takar, only the Kakamora, and they'd been easy compared to this.

So, soon enough one of them tore her oar away from her and crashed into her back, sending her flying into the water. She didn't even hear Maui's yell.  
Below the water, nothing was calm. Back and forth and up and down they went, like a giant mass of constant moving tar, flowing over and under each other and slipping past without touching. About half a dozen of them came at Moana, she tried swimming away, and she felt the ocean tense around her, about to help her through the current and take her far away, but the eels were too fast and too strong. The ocean itself could not fight creatures of the ocean. They gripped at her with their double mouths, and Moana screamed underwater no matter how much she tried not to, as their teeth sunk into her flesh on her arms and legs.

Then she was dragged down and down. Moana kicked and screamed and lost her air supply, and soon dark patches appeared at the edges of her eyes.  
Then it all went dark and she did not register whatever followed.

* * *

Maui had screamed Moana's name, then immediately leaped in after her. but he knew it would be in vain. One of the largest ones he'd seen apart from the king itself, came at him and driven its teeth into his arm, and others swarming around him started dragging him down. He felt the pressure change quickly as any light from above disappeared and he was pushed into the deep black, watching as Moana was taken far away.


	7. Chapter 7 Shutters

_Please leave reveiws and rights go to disney and me etc._

* * *

The first thing Moana did when she woke was cough up water. The sea water stung her throat and lungs as she threw up and shivered on her hands and knees. Tears came to her eyes as she heaved up whatever was in her lungs and stomach.

After it was all gone, and the dry-retching subsided, she shuffled away from the mess, still shuddering from the ordeal, and possibly the fact that she was soaked.  
After wiping away her tears, she looked around from where she sat, her knees tucked into her chest. It was a dark cave with a sandy floor, only a few metres across and a few metres high. The walls were dark grey and looked formidably painful if one was to attempt to climb them.

A circular body of water reflected some unknown light, filling the cave with the shimmery patterns. Moana stood and with shaking hands, did her hair up in a bun, then walked towards the opening on unsteady legs. The water seemed to be filling some kind of tunnel, which curved down for a few feet, then must have levelled out or curved up, she couldn't tell from here.

Moana had to get out. She didn't know if the others were alive, and if they were, she had to find them.  
But her body hurt all over, and only then did she look down at herself. Her Way-finding dress was wrecked, but where she expected bite marks was instead pale scars, as if they had all closed over, even the particularly large one that had been in her arm.

Panic hit Moana hard. How long had she been here!? It would have taken _weeks_ for those wounds to close over. How many weeks, then? Or maybe Te Tamaroa had somehow healed her. But what if he hadn't?

But why had he captured them? Why not kill them instead?

Moana tried not to think about the fact that maybe it wasn't 'them,' but maybe instead was 'her.' Maybe the eels had just dragged the others down and ripped them apart.  
Moana's lip quivered at the thought and she had to bite the side of her fist to stop the tears.

Crying wasn't going to help right now, she needed to think.

She wasn't sure how much of an opening she had, if she had one at all, to get out. Maybe some of Te Tamaroa's minions were going to come check on her, or the eel god himself. Or maybe there was guards of some kind beyond the tunnel and they'd bring her right back, or worse, kill her. she just didn't know, but right now it didn't matter.

Moana waited only about half a minute for her body to recover as much as it was likely to, then she dived into the water.

Something about the water was…wrong. It didn't feel like it normally did. It was denser or less dense, it wasn't the salt content, it was just…not normal.

Moana ignored the thoughts and questions raising in her mind, and concentrating on not wasting the air she had left in her lungs. After years of swimming and being on the ocean, she had soon learnt to try hold her breath for as long as she could. Bigger people like Ahonui, Lelei and Loto could beat her records, sometimes to full five minutes which was extremely skilful, but she suspected that was helped by their larger size, so their lungs could expand more.

But Moana could still hold hers for 3-4 minutes, and she intended to use it as much to her advantage as she could right now.

The tunnel levelled out for a bit, then started curving up sharply. Moana was relieved at this, because it made swimming easier, being able to use her natural buoyancy and air in her lungs to go up. And the pressure around her was not suffocating, so she couldn't be very deep beneath the surface. This gave her a little hope.

She powered along as much as she could, feeling her lungs starting to pound with every heartbeat, and her throat was starting to burn.

Finally, the tunnels wall's started fanning out, and Moana could see the light above. She came up from the tunnel into what looked like a bowl. Large and circular and walled with the similar grey sharp rock from within her own chamber, it was huge. The other side could only just be made out from where she was, but she was only a dozen metres or so from the wall on her left. Around her was coral plants, colourful and larger than any she'd ever seen, like the ones from Lalotai, and swarms of fish circled around leisurely.

Moana only took in the sight for a second, before her lungs demanded to go further up.

She kicked her legs and dragged her hands back, heading up.

In her haste she didn't realise the holes in the sides of the walls, varying in size for the varying sizes of its occupants. When they spotted a shape that should not have been there, hundreds, maybe thousands of lithe heads slowly slipped from their hole-like dens.

Moana didn't see them, just kept going towards the surface, which she recognized because of the light, like shards, splintered in the water.

But she heard them then. Screeches so loud that they almost split her eardrums, and made her pause in the water and cover her ears, but it was in vain. Then they shot from their hiding places and raced towards her, maybe only two dozen of them. Moana's eyes widened when she saw the black and grey shapes coming towards her, much faster than any human.

She kicked harder than she had before, and even though it burnt her legs and started choking her lungs, she kept going. She was so close to the surface when they finally caught her, she had almost touched it with her finger tips. But then a huge tug, and the water around her pressing against her back and flowing past her sides with a speed.

They must have bitten into her clothes and were dragging her down, because there was no pain, but so many black, grey and slightly greenish long tail were surrounding her and flowing side to side to push her back down.

They brought her to the bottom, then kept pushing her into and through the tunnel, eventually powering her forward and up when they reached the small incline, and her head burst from the water, taking in the air.

She got head rush as she finally started breathing again, realising how close she'd been to passing out before. her tors and arms were keeping her on the sand, her legs still dangling in the water behind her. As Moana still breathed with difficulty, she dragged her legs up, then rolled onto her back in the sand, feeling the full weight of such a failure.

But, if she was being kept in a chamber like this, then maybe the others were as well.

"Well you're quite the little darer, aren't you?"

Moana turned her head weakly towards the voice.

He was big, and ugly, and had a monstrous sized head. His skin was dark and seemed to be covered in moisture. His eyes were that same black pearl quality, his hair long and straight and slick. His clothing was like Maui's, but made of sea-weed instead of large leaves. He was leaning against the wall, hands clasped in front of his dark belly.

"Te Tamaroa." Moana said darkly, and sat up slightly to lean on her elbows, bracing them behind her. This was him in humanoid form, and she couldn't tell if she liked this form, or his other form, more. Both were so ugly.

He smiled, and his teeth were horrifically sharp. "You're quick. And daring. I never would have expected a human to try swim out of this place. And you would have made it, had my sons and daughters not seen you. I've made some stay outside the entrance now, knowing you'll get ideas into your head."

"How long have I been here?" Moana asked calmly. She had to know if her parents would think her dead or not.

"Only a few hours." He answered in a voice that did not deserve to be as smooth as it was. Moana glanced at her closed injuries, and he spotted the look. "I healed you. Your blood was making my children want to eat you, and I can't have that right now."

"Where are my people!?" She yelled, turning onto her side. She didn't think she'd be able to stand however, so her demand was not impressive. It probably wouldn't have been anyway. He was only a few centimetres shorter than Maui, and thinner, but not by much. His limbs seemed strange as well, and Moana realised it was because the muscles were a different shape, a different structure.

"One of your people is asleep somewhere else, alive. Some are back on a nearby island, and I suspect the rest are back home." He said casually with a smile that could have been mocking or nice, Moana didn't know and she didn't care.

"And Maui? Hina!?"

He shrugged. "You asked about your people, they are not."

"They are now!" Moana growled.

He sighed, then walked over, and Moana tried shuffling away, but couldn't go far. He bent down to rest on the balls of his feet, squatting there to look at her.

"They will never be your people. They are a breed apart. They both love you, cherish you, and will protect you to the best of their abilities but they are not a part of your world, not fully. Demi-gods live a cursed life. They are neither god nor human and have to sit on the fence, understood by no one." He sighed. "Well at least it was that way before. Sending Hina down to be a demi-god was probably the worst mistake I've made in a few hundred years. It gave Maui someone to understand him and gave Hina somewhere to be that she felt at home. She may never be one of your people but she feels that she belongs." He shrugged, and stood. "Oh well. It'll make it all the more fun to kill them."

"NO!" Moana launched at him, and he jumped, no, slipped away, faster than she liked to think possible. Although, she'd been moving rather slowly as she had to jump from a laying position.

She leaned against the wall as she breathed hard, and turned to look at him. He was shaking his abnormal-sized head with a smile.

"I'm not going to kill them _yet,_ so calm down. I have some things to discuss with them first, and some things to do. I'm very busy."

"What are you doing to this island?!"

"To it? Nothing. _On_ it…" He paused, probably for effect. "Everything."

Then he leaped towards the water, and as he did he changed, and then his lithe black form was gone, and the only remaining sign of his presence was the ripples on the water.

* * *

Hina woke up slowly at first, but once she realised she was alive, she bolted upright with her eyes wide open. Immediately her head spun, and she had to lay back down with a groan so she didn't faint. She cursed and swore quietly to herself, rubbing her eyes, then tried again, and managed to sit up.

The injury in her shoulder was throbbing, and she smelled of blood.

"You're lucky your princes didn't get me on my tattoos." She muttered.

He laughed. "So your sixth sense is better than ever."

"No, you just give off a very distinctive _smell._ " She spat. Te Tamaroa sat nearby on some dead coral in a chamber of sharp limestone with a pool of foul smelling water nearby. Hina suspected it lead to the surface, but there would be eel guards outside just waiting for her to try escape.

"I hope you healed the others at least. I know you can." She said, inspecting her cuts and gashes and unattractive bite marks.  
 _  
Great. Scars the size of Maui's fist._ Hina would have groaned irritably had Te Tamaroa not been there.

"How do you know they're alive?" he asked with a tilted head, genuinely interested.

Hina laughed loudly. "Because you just told me they are."

He paused, then must have realised she'd tricked him into telling her. He then sighed. "Fine, you win that battle of wits."

Hina snorted. "Wasn't much of a battle."

His mouth twitched, and she knew she was playing his patience.  
 _  
If I get him to leave sooner, I can try looking for the others._

That was of course if he didn't kill her. She would just have to wait and see.

"How's Moana?" She asked, feeling herself miss the girl's presence already.

"Alive, healed, and tried to escape. I honestly was surprised. Never thought a human in her condition would try that."

Hina smiled proudly, and shook her head as she said, "She's not just any human. I hope you haven't hurt the boy too much either."

Te Tamaroa eyed her as he took a few moments, then said quietly, "What is the boy to you?"

"Not much. But to his family I imagine he's a lot." Hina didn't want to give away the fact that Moana and Ahonui were close, otherwise who knows what the slimy prick might do.

"So no concern over Maui?" Te Tamaroa asked with a raised eyebrow and mocking smirk.

She shrugged. "He's capable I suppose."

Hina gripped one of the holds in the limestone, and pulled herself up, and tested her legs. They seemed fine, so she risked it and stood without support. Her head didn't spin, and her muscles felt fine. It was the surface wounds that hurt the most, but she wasn't concerned. They'd heal quickly.

She looked up, and found her captor was staring at her with a very dark expression. She glared back.

"Did you choose him over me?" he asked, his voice as angry as his eyes implied.

"What?" Hina was so confused that she squinted at him without knowing it. Sort of like someone who's so colossally stupid you can't fully comprehend how small their mind is.  
Te Tamaroa stood quickly, big dark hands turning into fists. "Did you reject me all those times for that pathetic Maui?"

"No, Te, I rejected you because it's _you._ " Hina answered easily. "You're creepy and I hate you. That's actually it."

His expression didn't change. "You underestimate me."

She shrugged her unhurt shoulder with twisted lips and bored eyes. "Doesn't chance the fact that you're creepy."

He glared at her, then said, "One day, you'll see how powerful I am and then you'll want me."

Hina cocked an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"Until then, you'll just have to deal with a fist or two."

Two shapes rose from the water, and two of Te Tamaroa's princes stepped into the chamber. They were smaller, skinnier, but that possibly made them even more hideous that their father. They were still a lot taller than Ahonui would be, and stepped forward. Hina took a step back.

"Wait, you don't mean you're getting your little princelings to do the beatings for you?" Hina asked with a mocking tone. She might as well make light of the situation considering she might not be alive in a few minutes. Probably hours or days actually. The eel princes liked to take their time when they beat someone to death.

"Sorry Hina dear but I've got two other prisoners to see to and things to do. Being bad is more work than I thought."

"Then you're not doing it right." Hina said with a laugh.

He laughed with her, then waved as he left, diving into his water. Hina suspected it smelled bad because he's put a poison in it to kill her if she tried to escape. It didn't matter now anyway, because the princes leaped at her.

* * *

It must have been the screams that woke Maui. Bruised on his bare chest and bashed on his body, he hissed from pain as he stood.

He could here shrill and strangled yells, and looked around. No one else was in the small limestone chamber. But where were they coming from...?

Maui then recognized the screams.

"Hina!" He yelled immediately, looking around.

There was no reply, but the yells got louder. Sometimes they were shrill screams and sometimes dull yells, or even worse, the faint sound of sobs.

Maui looked around carefully, and spotted them. Limestones almost always had them. Big gaps and holes, caused from running water or formed thousands of years ago. Limestone was just aged coral that wasn't touched by water for hundreds or thousands of years. It was sharp but broke easily.

Maui went to look through the gaps. Most led to darkness, others to plain light. It took a little while of searching to find the one that had movement on the other side and where the noises were loudest.

After a few moments though, the screams stopped and turned into gasps for air and the normal sounds of someone who had just been beat.

"Hina." Maui said, trying not to yell. There was the sound of something dragging, then a strangled voice saying,

"Hey."

Maui sighed out in relief. "Are you okay!?"

"Something in the bite." Hina said, struggling to talk clearly. "Something in their bite, or the water. I can't use any power. And they're really strong. More than usual."

"How many?"

"Two. Probably more next time."

Maui didn't need to ask what they had been doing. He didn't want to picture what kind of a state she was in now, but at least she was still alive. He couldn't really see anything, but knew she was there.

"Do you know where Moana and Ahonui are?"

"No, but they're alive, and healed."

Maui almost smiled. At least little chicken perch was okay.

"They've taken my hook." Maui said. He'd noticed immediately the lack of his prized possession. "You got anything?"

"Do I even have to answer?"

Maui grimaced. Nothing to work with. Neither of them could use their power. But limestone was weak, and both of them were strong, even without it.

"Hina, we should try breaking away the wall."

"Which wall?"

"This one, stupid, between you and me."

"Why? We'd still be trapped. And we can't leave by the water either."

Maui hadn't thought of why. It was just obvious that being together would make it easier to get out. Both were weak and could only use what strength they had currently, but they could still be something formidable.

"Maybe I can help. You just got beat up pretty badly by the sounds of it."

"Yeah well I'm loving the sight of a splintered left leg at the moment. And not being able to feel the right side of my face means I can't feel the pain."

Maui closed his eyes at the words, his jaw clenching. She was trying to make a joke out of it, but he knew now how badly hurt she really did get.

"That's what you get for becoming a demi-god." He replied. She laughed for a second, then growled from the painful effort.

"Best decision yet, believe me."

He smiled, and took a deep breath in, feeling everything register in his mind.

"Has he come to see you yet?" Hina asked.

"Who?" Maui asked, still in other thoughts.

"Your fairy godfather." There were a few moments of Maui's confusion, then realised she was being sarcastic. "Te Tamaroa you rock head!"

"Hey! You're lucky there's a wall here."

"Right 'cause you'd beat up a damaged demi-goddess. Lovely and noble."

"No, he hasn't come to see me." Maui answered, eyeing the water entrance that smelled funny. If he was going to arrive, it would be through there. "Why do you think he put us like this? Within talking range? Isn't he just going to think we're plotting?"

"He probably did because he knew you'd hear me, and that it would hurt you as well."

"Who said it hurt me?" Maui said smugly, even though his heart did ache at her words.

She laughed. "Alrighty then tough guy. When he comes to beat _you_ up I'll be having a nice little nap."

"See if he tries kissing you to wake you up."

"Oh now that's just gross Maui." Hina spat, clearly disgusted.

"Would you prefer me to try?"

"Stick your lips somewhere else rock head, I'm trying to think of a way out of here."

Maui almost threw back another flirtatious comment, but decided against it. "I think we should try my plan. Just knock the rocks down."

"Maui, I'm taking great shame in saying this so don't bloody laugh, but I can't. I can barely _move_."

"The leg?" Maui asked.

"Can't feel the leg. It's just the pain in everything else." Her tone changed as she said, "I'm not sure what I can do Maui. It hurts so bad."

He swallowed and again felt his heart ache a little. "They didn't, you know-,"

"No. And if they did, they're things are so small I didn't feel it." Hina said with a mocking huff.

"Don't tell them that, it's a little cruel."

"And beating up someone isn't? Besides, it's just one less thing to be disgusted about."

"I'm going to try get to you so you can stop complaining." Maui said decidedly, feeling the walls for any bits that might be weak.

"I would as well, but, you know…"

"It's okay. Just let me be your hero for once." He said in his usual up himself tone.

"Never in a million years." She deadpanned.

"You should try get some sleep."

"How am I going to do that with you bashing at the walls?"

"You sleep like a log in a thunderstorm. You'll be fine."

"Urgh, fine." She growled, then there was the sound of her dragging again. She screamed out at one point.

"You okay?" he called. "Not that I care though."

"Im fine!" She snapped. "Just bumped it is all. It hurts when I touch it."

"Stop being a baby. I'll get to you as soon as I can."

When all was quiet, Maui started away at the wall, pulling away what crumbling limestone he could.

* * *

Ahonui woke up easily, and was immediately grateful that he was alive. He checked all over him, but the most damage was just done to his clothes, even the bites and gashed were gone.

He heard a sound next to him, and cried out in fright and jumped away, stumbling onto a sandy fall.

"What the…!?" he said loudly, when he spotted the red, green and bulging eyed rooster, happily sitting in the sand. "Heihei?! How did you even…? You know what, forget it."

Ahonui shook his head and stood, eyeing the chicken suspiciously. There was something real weird about that chicken.

Ahonui looked at him, and he didn't know it, but his chamber was very much like Moana's. Grey rough rock, not the limestone of Hina's and Maui's. But like all of them, there was a body of water with a tunnel beneath it. Ahonui took one look at it, shrugged, then took a deep breath and dived.

He hadn't gone two feet when he felt the water tense around him, and he was sucked back to where he'd dived and thrown from the water back where he'd been originally lying.

"What?" Ahonui said to himself, and looked at the water. "You're joking! Ocean, what the hell? I'm trying to find the others."

The ocean raised a little bit, and shook it's 'head'.

"Where's Moana? Why aren't you helping _her_?"

It made the same movement.

Ahonui closed his eyes in frustration, then asked, "Then why are you helping _me?_ "

The water made a strange flicking movement, and a few drops flew from it and hit Heihei on the back. The chicken looked at it with his uneven eyes, then started pecking his own back.

"The chicken. You're serious?"

The ocean 'hung it's head', then reaching over and sucked the chicken up until only it's head was visible. Before Ahonui's eyes, the water contracted, squeezing the chicken, who coughed and hurled until something flew from within it. Ahonui watched with interest, confusion and disgust as a fairly large stick with a rock attached to one end fell into the sand.

Ahonui stared at the chicken. "There is no way that could fit in him."

The ocean grew watery shoulders for a second and shrugged. Ahonui blinked away any confusion, then picked up the stick.

"What am I meant to do with this?"

The ocean shot some water again, towards a spot in the rocky ceiling next right above one of the walls. Ahonui walked over, and put the stick in his mouth as he found foot and hand holds and climbed up. When he was reaching distance of the ceiling, he knocked it with his knuckles.

His eyes widened at the sound it made. _It's hollow. There must be a chamber on the other side, or a tunnel. Maybe to the surface!_

Ahonui dropped down again and removed the stick from his mouth.

"Thanks, but seriously, are you able to help Moana?"

The ocean shook its head again.

Ahonui sighed. "Let me guess, she's maximum security and I'm not."

It nodded, and Ahonui huffed and smiled. If anyone was going to need maximum security it was Hina. She was probably fighting the guards right now. But then again, Moana would be doing some amazing tricks or something to get past them.

"Is the water safe?" he asked. It shook. He had noticed something weird about the water when he'd jumped in.

"Okay, so, I can get out?"

It nodded.

"And once I do, I can find the others?"

Another nod.

Ahonui pouted, then nodded once. "Cool. Good enough for me."

Just as he turned to get to work, he heard frantic splashing, and looked again at the ocean. It was shaking its head quickly.

"What? Why not?"

The ocean appeared to look down at itself, then sunk back to normal level. Ahonui saw a dark shape move within it, and his eyes widened. He had to get rid of the stick, and fast.

In a quick, desperate thought, he chucked the stick near Heihei. Luck, and the chickens strange appetite, was on Ahonui's side, because it took pecked at it, then started to swallow it.

It managed to disappear down its throat just as a strange looking man rose from the water.  
Ahonui backed off in fright.

"So, two demi-gods, a mortal Palu. It makes me wonder what is so special about…" The man, who Ahonui guessed was Te Tamaroa is human formed, had stopped as he spotted Heihei a few feet away, happily standing and doing nothing.

"Believe me," Ahonui said, looking at it as well, "The less you ask, the less confused you'll get."

"But how did it even…"

"Don't know. Our village stopped asking long ago. He's also managed to live for almost twenty years."

"That's a really long time for a chicken."

"As I said, ask less, be less confused."

Te Tamaroa shook his head and then looked back at Ahonui. "Anyway, I was just wondering what was so special about you. Why were you chosen to come with the great heroes of Te Fiti and a demi-goddess of the moon to a place like this?"

Ahonui glared. "What have you done with the others?"

"By my own skin, can your people ask any other sort of question? It's all, 'how's my darling?' or 'what have you done with this and that and them'."

"I'm not even surprised that you don't understand what concern is." Ahonui growled.

"Concern is a waste of energy and emotion, much like love." Te Tamaroa waved a hand to dismiss the very mentions of affectionate emotions.

"I'm guessing you wouldn't even know." Ahonui said boldly.

The eel god turned angrily. "What do you know!? You're only a mortal boy."

"Who knows that Hina has rejected you so many times she no longer felt sorry for you."

Ahonui had been expecting the hit, and it sent him flying across the chamber and he hit the wall painfully.

"You, _boy,_ are going to get that Hina hurt."

"Why don't you just take it out on me?!" Ahonui yelled, standing.

"Because if you're really her friend, it's going to hurt you more this way."

Te Tamaroa took a dramatic exit out, and Ahonui was left wiping blood away from his mouth.  
 _  
I'm so sorry Hina. Forgive me, please._ Ahonui thought. Of course he had made the god mad on purpose, hoping he'd just hit him and then leave if Ahonui stayed down. He  
hadn't seen the possible threat to any of the others coming, but it worked all the same. Besides, if he managed to get out and find them, then the deed was done and all was even.

With the barbaric God gone, Ahonui made Heihei cough up the stick, then climbed the wall and started digging.

* * *

Maui had torn about half a foot of the wall away, which to be honest, he was very proud of. But it wasn't fast enough, wasn't good enough just yet. Rubble shifted around his feet as he dug with hardened hands. They hadn't cut or blistered yet, from thousands of years of toughening, and he was grateful for it.

"Isn't that a heart-warming sight? Too bad I'm cold blooded."

Maui spun with wide eyes, and saw the ugly man himself.

"Nice of you to drop by. I'm doing a little renovating." Maui said, patting his hands together to rid of any dust.

"I can see that. Trying to do joint accommodation? Or make a honey-moon suite?"

"Rent would be cheaper either way."

Te Tamaroa laughed. "So you _do_ have feelings for her. I'd always wondered." Suddenly his expression darkened. "No matter what she says, I know she rejected me all those times, for you. She left me for you, and now you're so precious together aren't you? And now that foolish boy has gone and insulted me, which means I have to hurt someone. I know it would be almost impossible to hurt you, even without your hook. And that Moana is too precious to the ocean, even my children won't let me harm her beyond that painful capture we did, and we need her for later. So, guess who gets to be the punching bag?"

Maui sagged on the spot, and peered through the hole. There was some movement, the sound of moving water, and then Hina's tired voice.

"Oh for damn sakes. Can't you just leave me alone?"

Then she could be heard crying out.

"No!" Maui yelled. He then spun and launched at Te Tamaroa. The god almost got out of his grip, but Maui managed to grab hold of his long hair and yank his head back. The eel god gave out a roar-like cry, and punched Maui in the stomach, who had seen it coming and tensed his muscles, minimising the effect. Maui locked an arm around Te Tamaroa's neck, and went to rip it sideways, knowing that all it would do is daze him for a bit before his bones realigned, but a fist came up and clipped him in the nose. Maui cried out and his head flew backwards, his grip loosening as white dots danced across his eyes. He felt blood run down his lips.  
Te Tamaroa escaped his grip and rammed into his chest and belly, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Don't try it again, Maui, or I WILL KILL HER."  
Maui heaved in breaths as he saw the creepy god leave. He stood, and made his way to the wall, and even as she yelled and cried out and swore at them, Maui dug harder and faster and more desperately then before.


	8. Not a chapter: Calm down folks

Not a chapter:

To answer everyones questions, YES I PLAN ON UPDATING!

But I just entered year 12, so my last year of highschool, and I'm choking on my assignments at the moment. For example, tonight I have to write a 2000 word media analysis essay and answer two practice exam stimulous questions for art analysis, and that's only the stuff which is due tomorrow. Then i have to study for a bio validation on friday, then a visual diary for art to finish, then a 3000 word essay on an artist for art etc. etc etc. sooooooo... I won't be able to post my latest chapter (Yes i have worked on chapter 8, i just haven't finished it) until at least this weekend or even for a week.

I just don't know. The only reason i was able to smash out so many chapters before was because I was on our christmas holiday break (Which lasts 6-7 weeks because I live in Aussie land) and had so much time.

But I am determined to continue and finish this story. So far there is no sign of a sequel because I think once i finish this one I'm going to work on the last story of Buck's Trilogy i have promised my other fans. Then all the side stories to that. Then I might do side stories for this one like one-shots etc. But so far, you'll all just have to hold on. 


	9. Chapter 8 Fetching all Kinds

_Hey guys, sorry that this one was so late. There isn't too much action in this, but a few nice scenes of Maui crushing on Hina and poor little Ahonui trying to save everyone. There is also snippets of legends and demons and even spells, curses and things like that. not all of them will be accurate because I'm not actually part of the culture. if any of my readers are by any means offended i will go back and edit them if you message me.  
but apart from that, i hope you guys enjoy. _

* * *

Ahonui didn't know who to thank, so he just kept saying his gratitude over and over in his mind as he made his way up. The ceiling had taken minimal effort to crack away, and Ahonui started scrambling up as fast as he could, the stick in his mouth and Heihei painfully gripping his shoulder with his claws. It wasn't always easy to find footholds or hand holds, but Ahonui managed enough to keep going. He could smell fresh air above, and even hear the waves crashing nearby.

It took a few more minutes, but soon his head popped up out of the opening, and the sight of the sky and waves was a blessing, both in their rightful place. It wasn't natural for someone like himself to not only be trapped underground, but under the ocean as well, when he was meant to be sailing atop it.  
And so was Moana. She was meant to be out here too, with him. Even those two blasted demi-gods.

Ahonui clambered the rest of the way out, and placed Heihei on the ground. He straightened up, and almost gasped at the sight around him.  
Instead of tropical forest and plants and beaches, the whole island was the harsh grey rock his chamber had been made of. It stretched for miles, and the peaks themselves showed no sign of life. It was a sad sight. Ahonui liked the lushness of all the other islands he'd come across, and this was disappointing.  
Ahonui walked around, trying to find…

It only took a few steps up a small incline to see it. A huge dip in the middle of the island, only twenty metres from where he'd appeared. It looked like a humungous bowl, filled with moving creatures. It was fed by several gaps in the surrounding rocks that were low enough for the crashing waves to flow over them and splash into it, to keep the water oxygenated and probably an even temperature.

"They're in there?" Ahonui asked. The ocean reared up in its usual style, and sharpened its end somehow and pointed down. Ahonui climbed down to the edge of the bowl, and looked to where it seemed to be pointing. The bowl wasn't as deep as he thought it would be. Thirty, maybe forty metres. At the bottom, there was several large holes, like caverns, and around on of them was a cluster of eels.

"Moana's in that one?" he asked. Ocean nodded, then pointed again. In the side of the wall, a few bigger eels flowed lazily back and forth from a couple of openings in the side.

"Maui and Hina. Okay." Ahonui stood, and paced at the rim. "I should probably get Hina and Maui first. They're bigger, they're stronger." Ahonui stopped in his pacing, and cursed, "dammit. I bet you Maui doesn't have his hook, right?" he looked at ocean, who drooped and shook its head.

That meant he would have to find Maui's hook first, or the overgrown muscle man would just suggest they'd need it anyway. Ahonui sighed.

"You wouldn't happen to know where it is?" he asked the ocean, who again shook its head sadly. Ahonui's mouth twitched, as he started to think.  
 _  
If I were a creepy god stealing someone else's weapon, where would I put it_?

And of course the answer was more obvious than Te Tamaroa would have liked.

"His own chambers! Te Tamaroa has to be hiding Maui's hook in a place that he thinks is safest, and that's where _he_ thinks _he_ would be safest." Ahonui realised that he was talking to a body of water and a chicken.  
 _  
I'll have to brag about this later to Maui though._

It was how he was going to get Te Tamaroa to lead him to his chambers that was the tricky part. It took a few long minutes of planning, and of course the plan was really risky, but it was the best he could come up with in the time he thought he had.  
So he made his way down to the edges of the island to look for seaweed.

* * *

Moana had been bashing at the walls, looking for gaps or holes, had even tried diving once more into the water, but the eels had heard her coming straight away and thrown her back into the chambers.

She stood in anger, grabbing at her now messed up hair.

"Don't you guys know how to treat a _lady!?_ " She screeched at the water, her words only powered by frustration. She groaned, then started pacing. She'd tried getting out in every way she thought possible. She simply needed something to fight her way out, or even trick them. But as soon as she got into the water it was like they sensed her.

And the water itself. It seemed to get fouler. Before it had simply felt weird, but a few hours later and now it smelled funny and almost stung against her skin.  
Her knuckles were scratched and bleeding, her eyes were burning from being so tired and her muscles were begging for relief. But she couldn't sleep. She was terrified of the grotesque eel god and what he might do, to her or her friends, if she went to sleep.

Besides, she wanted to be awake if an opportunity arose for her to get out.

But the longer she was in, the less likely it was for her to have that opportunity. For the first time in a long time, she didn't know how she was going to work around the problem.

Moana kicked at the sand below her, scraping her foot painfully on the rock below. She screeched and fell onto her back, gripping at her foot.

"Oh great." She hissed, touching around the gash tenderly. She blinked at where the sand had been scraped away.

It was a real long shot of an idea, but it was the last one she had. Tying her hair up again, she started scraping away the sand of the floor.

The entrance to Lalotai often was covered in sand, so maybe something was magically hidden beneath in this sand in some weird miracle.

* * *

Te Tamaroa stood above a wrecked Hina, clicking his tongue.

"What do _you_ want?" she growled, clearly trying to look as imposing as she could from a sitting position. Gods didn't usually bleed, unless hit by another god. In this case, a demi-god being hit by a pair of a god's sons? She bled a lot. Not enough to kill her, there's very little that could kill her, but this, along with the sigil in the floor,

weakened her considerably.

"Believe it or not, I'm here to heal your leg." He said. The sight of it turned his stomach.

"Nothing else?" she asked, looking up with weak eyes, trying to be as much of a smart ass as usual.

"Unfortunately for you." Te Tamaroa stepped forward, then grabbed a flat shark's tooth in his hand that had a symbol on it.

"Don't you dare you little sh-,"

Before Hina could say the rest, Te Tamaroa had smacked the flat side of the sharks tooth to the side of her head, and she was instantly knocked out from the glowing symbol.

"You really shouldn't swear. It's unbecoming of someone with your power and influence." He said, obviously having no reply. He sighed, kneeled down, and was just about to start on her leg when he heard a deep angry voice yell out.

"What are you doing you slimy creep!?"

"Calm your tattoos Maui, I'm only healing her leg. I need her relatively in one piece, and the sight of it is disgusting."

"Oh so out of the goodness of your heart."

"You sound pretty close, Maui," Te Tamaroa gripped Hina's leg softly with both large hands. This would take two seconds. "How far have you crushed in that wall?"

"More than you could. Haven't even broken a nail."

There was a sound of cracking as Hina's bone realigned and snapped back into place, then the line of the small breakage started closing over.

Just as the flesh around it started forming back together, the only sign that the severed flesh had been there was a few pale scars, and the wall behind Te Tamaroa crashed apart.

Maui didn't have bloody knuckles or ragged clothes, but he was dusty and he was mad. Te Tamaroa stood quickly.

"I'm impressed you actually managed it."

"What the hell do you 'need her for?'"

"I need both of you, and the girl too, maybe the boy, if I find out why he's so special to travel with you."

"To be honest with you, not much."

"Well, if you let me pass without causing a fuss, I won't kill anyone and you can escape another bloody nose. And that would have been a weird feeling, wouldn't it? Feeling blood on you once more."

"Get out." Maui demanded.

"It's my own home, Maui."

"Get out!" He said again, louder.

Te Tamaroa smiled.

"She'll be awake soon," he moved around Maui carefully. The chamber was small for two large men like themselves, and Te Tamaroa still had things to do without trouble from the pissed demi-god. Two, if he wasn't out of here soon. He'd beat one, but two was not a laughing matter.  
Maui clearly didn't want to risk getting them killed either, maybe even thought they'd be able to escape.  
And it was a sad thought.

* * *

When the slimy big-headed creep finally left, Maui sighed, and turned around.

She looked battered, and beaten, but he knew that once she woke up you wouldn't know. She'd swear and yell and kick at walls. She'd hated Te Tamaroa for thousands of years and now he did this to her. To them.

She was laying uncomfortably against the wall, and Maui wasn't sure if he should move her or not.

No matter what he felt. No matter what he was feeling. No, especially because of what he was feeling, he didn't want to touch her without her allowing him to. Then again, she would wake up pissed anyway, so she might as well wake up without cramped muscles to make it worse.

He bent down and picked her up, not liking how he felt about holding her. It felt good.

He put her down quickly, placing her as comfortably as he thought, and took a few steps back. He ignored the tingle that lingered on his chest and fingers from where his skin had been in contact with hers. He wiped it away as desperately as he could. He'd seen her unconscious before, but last time he'd been shocked and she wasn't beaten to a pulp.

Maui looked away, taking a deep breath in, and looked at the hole he'd bashed into the wall. It had hurt doing that so quickly, but he wasn't sure what Te Tamaroa had been doing. It was the only way he'd managed to get through in time to at least scare him away.

Maui leaned against the wall, then slid to the floor, waiting for her to wake up. Then they would have to find a way out of there.

It took a few long minutes, but she woke up with a yell and a few kicks of her legs.

"Calm down shiny," Maui said, coming over and sitting down next to her, "He healed you."

"Maui? How the hell…" She spotted the hole in the wall and laughed. "You did it."

"What? You think a little wall like that is going to stop the guy who slowed down the sun?"

"It would be ironic if it caved in on you now."

"Pffft, don't tempt it."

Hina looked at her leg, and she sighed loudly. "I guess this means we should try and escape or something."

"You can try get more sleep if you want."

"Screw sleep, I want to get out. I can sleep when I'm out. And safe. Away from here. You went through all that trouble to get through here anyway." She immediately went to stand.

Maui watched with a cocked eyebrow. "Maybe you shouldn't do that."

She got halfway up when she toppled, and Maui leaned forward quick enough to catch the bulk of her in his big arms. While she was there, she placed a hand over her eyes, and muttered,

"Damn my head hurt just then. Thanks for the catch."

"It doesn't take a genius to tell you to take it slow."

"And it doesn't take too many of your limited brain cells to know I'm not going to listen." She snapped. She tried again, made it further, but had to lean against the wall.

Maui stood and watched with the same expression.

"Alright," she said, "How good are our chances of fighting out?"

"Not good, especially while you're like this. And the water is still weird."

"So we dig our way out. Up." She said, almost as if it were final.

"How are we going to reach an extra metre up? We don't exactly have a ladder."

"No, but we have something that might be even better." Hina was staring at something behind Maui, and he turned, spotting the mounds and wrecks of rubble and broken rock, some of the piece as large as his own arms.  
He blinked. "Huh."

* * *

Ahonui had never realised how much he hated the scent of seaweed until it was all over him. He had wrapped it around and around, tied long strands in his hair, to his arms, legs, around his torso. He had struggled doing it all on his own, but by the end, his reflection in the Ocean looked pretty good. He just looked like a great big ball of seaweed, and that was the look he was going for. He wondered what he was going to do with Heihei. It was not like he could take him underwater. So instead he found a smaller dip in the rocks around him and placed the rooster there, letting it wander back and forth, being stopped by the walls in the dip.

Then he approached the edge of the water next to the bowl, taking deep breaths. This was going to be tough, and probably wasn't even going to work. He might be killed. Really, he should just try to build a canoe out of the drift wood he's found and make it back to Hoku, the island where the rest of their voyagers were. He should just explain that their leader and friends were probably dead.

Ahonui sighed, took a deep breath, and with a large rock in his two strong arms, he jumped into the water. The initial splash attracted a little attention from the eels, but his disguise must have worked better than he thought, because none came close for investigation. And, Ahonui realised that eels might not be very smart anyway.  
The pressure around him tensed a little as he sunk with the rock, seaweed blocking his view as it trailed behind and around him. Ahonui bounced off the rock wall he'd jumped in next to a few times, which hurt his arms and side, but eventually his rock settled at the bottom, where very little fish and eels travelled.

His lungs were fine for the moments, but he knew it wouldn't last as long as he'd hope. His heart was bashing in his chest with fear and he knew that reduced your air time. He had to find a pocket and fast.

So he swam.  
He swam to one of the openings in the floor, one unguarded by eels, and swam inside. It took only a few long moments to swim through the strange bends until his head came up into an air pocket. He took a few deep breaths, clearing his head, then swam out again.

He repeated this several times, calming his lungs and heart with the constant supply of air. But nothing could stop his wary fear. If even a shadow moved to closely, he reached out and grabbed onto something, whether it be coral, rock wall or seaweed, he didn't care. He'd stay as still as he possibly could, trying not to take breaths out of panic, and look around slowly to make sure the he wasn't going to ripped apart by double-jaws from one or more eels.

The worst fear though, was when he was doubting he'd find Te Tamaroa. He hadn't seen a sign of the ugly god yet, and there was no strange activity happening in the bowl apart from what he'd already seen and established.

He grew frustrated and terrified at the same time, as his muscles started to ache as well as his heart. What if he couldn't find him? What would he do? Search every chamber, fight of the eels, leave the island?

He decided he only had one choice that he was going to go with. He was going to keep looking until he came across Maui's hook.

There were many holes and chambers, big and small, that Ahonui entered when he went in for air, but none of them were occupied and none of them had anything useful within. Chamber after chamber was sandy, empty and dark. Some were very cold, too, if they were within the shadows the wall of the bowl created.

He entered one more, and decided he needed to have a break. His lungs hurt. His head hurt. His muscles hurt. His _heart_ hurt. Without Maui's hook, all the other plans would have to be taken into account, and none of them were half as good, purely because they'd have a major power disadvantage. Hina herself might be weak from the attack. Ahonui remembered how savage the eels had been with her compared to how he himself had been treated. They had barely put a scratch on him, but the memory of giant jaws ripping and gripping into Hina's shoulder and leg made Ahonui tremble and goose-bumps raise all over.

In the cavern he'd chosen was again nothing. No weapons, no bits of wood or rock, no gold, not even bits of coral. The light swirled across the walls and ceiling like they had in his own chamber. Ahonui watched them as he sat and caught his breath. Occasionally the light made patterns or images, similar to what clouds do in the sky. He spotted dolphins, there and then gone, much like the real thing. There was occasionally the shape of a bird, fluttering and speeding across until the shape changed to something else.

But the most common image Ahonui's mind conjured up were eels. The long lines of light created the shape of them, and even moved like them sometimes. Once he realised this, he looked away, gritting his teeth with hatred. Never again would he be able to look at an eel without wanting to spear it on the spot.  
he shook his head and stood, diving into the water once again.

He continued his process of ducking into the air pockets, coming up, then going down again. Ducking behind weed, stilling his body for a few moments. The whole time his heart in his throat.  
 _  
I really hope I don't black out. I can't let that happen. Maui needs his hook and Maui needs Moana. They're the only chance of us all really getting out of here.  
_  
Ahonui felt something tug on the seaweed around his middle, and whipped his head around with his eyes wide. The sight was blurry, and he let out a mouthful of air as he panicked at the sight of a dark shape at the end of some of the strands. He kicked and fought and tried to get away from it, but the seaweed was too strong, too good. Next he tried reaching down to untie it, knowing that it would be the loss of some of his disguise.

Before he did however, he paused.

The dark shape below hadn't moved since he'd spotted it. He waited a few moments, hands at the ready to untie the weed from around him. When he noticed it still wasn't moving, he frowned, and swum down carefully.

It was a log. A bloody log.

Some of the weed had caught on a shard of the wood sticking out and had snagged him. Ahonui scrunched up his face in annoyance at himself, then pried the weed away from the log, and swam on, noticing how much air he had lost in his panic.

He was about to search for another chamber entrance, when something in the water changed. Ahonui looked around carefully, not sure if it was the feeling of eyes watching him, or something else that wasn't entirely generated by him.

It seemed to be the latter, because it got stronger. It was like a buzz, a charge of something, like the air is while there's a lightning storm when you're Way-Finding on the open ocean.

Ahonui pushed his body towards a large clump of coral and his inside, gripping to the rough plants.

A few moments later, the water started to vibrate, and across from where Ahonui was hiding, the wall started to shift.  
Bubbles burst in while a section of the wall started to move away, creating a door into what looked like a tunnel, lit very similarly like the chambers Ahonui had gone into.

But the things that moved in the tunnel were the things that made Ahonui almost create a warm patch of water around him.

There was Te Tamaroa of course, in his eel form. He wasn't as huge as he was the night he'd attacked them, but longer than three chief Fale's at least. And following him was an all manner of the most terrifying creatures Ahonui had ever seen.

Ahonui's shock wore off and he gazed at the creatures, noticing that a lot of them must have been Kupua, tricksters just like Maui, but ones that did not serve humans. They in fact were feared and hated. There were Ka-poe-kina-mano, which were possibly the most terrifying Kupua of all because they took the forms of great, dark, scarred and monstrously toothed sharks. Most were different shades of grey, but there were the occasional deep blues or greens, and a singular red one who swam at the front of the pack. His face and mouth had the most scars.

There were Ka-poe-kina-ia, in the forms of Barracuda or Octopus, and the final of the Kupua was three huge Ka-poe-kino-manu, in the form of terns who beat their lithe wings in the water in order to stay moving forward, their angry beaks covered in scratches and chips while their eyes determinedly mad and red.

The Kupua weren't even the worst of them.

What followed were specific demons that even Ahonui recognized from legends that Gramma Tala had told them as children.

The biggest and most recognizable one was a coconut crab who had to be careful getting through the doorway and not scrape any of the mounds of gold and jewels on his shell. He was talking to another creature, a masked thing with four arms that almost reached Tamatoa's shell.

"I haven't always been this glam you know. I'll tell you how I got my first piece of gold when I was just a small drab little thing."

The masked creature put one of its palms to the mask around its face and shook its head. Tamatoa scowled.

"Fine, you don't want to hear it? Then I won't tell you. But you're missing out you know." Tamatoa continued to strut along with his head held high and his two clawed arms crossed. Ahonui blinked at the fact that he'd heard the crab loud and clear even thought they were underwater.

He watched the last of the demons pass by, heading to Ahonui's left, and he kicked off to follow. He had to stop a few more times within chambers to re-fill his lungs, but he was fast enough that it didn't take him long at all to catch up with them again. He followed carefully for obvious reasons. He had no idea what their senses were like underwater, or even out of the water, so he was extra careful not to kick too hard.

They went around the edge of the bowl for a while, then the buzzing and vibrating sensation came again as Te Tamaroa opened another entrance, this time into a tunnel that led upwards. Ahonui only just managed to power himself through the opening before it started to rumble shut.

Once it did though, the water in the tunnel started to recede, to lower, and lowered Ahonui with it until his feet gracefully slid onto the slippery tunnel floor. It went down to his chest, then his torso, then his thighs, and eventually puddled slightly once it reached the soles of his feet.

Suddenly the seaweed felt very heavy on him, and the smell returned, but he didn't dare take his disguise off.  
he kept his body low and crept forward, keeping his hands flat and his knees bent, in case the slippery floor decided to give him a hard time.  
On he went, hearing a _drip, drip_ nearby, timing down to whatever was ahead. The air was cold here, and was made worse by the water which chilled his back and the seaweed which rested cold and wet against his bare skin. His footsteps made tiny _slip, slap_ sounds as he made his way along, the tunnel leading up at a gradual rise, and he realised there was a glowing light ahead. The light at the end of the tunnel. Typical.  
Ahonui pressed himself against a wall as he got closer, then he topped the crest and saw the exit. And what was beyond.

* * *

Moana hastily brushed away the last of the sand, panting as she did so, but her eyes were wide with excitement. As soon as she had started brushing away the sand, there had been curves and rivets scratched into the hard rock beneath. The more she scraped, the more she found, twirling and twisting around her, a never endless bond that surrounded her like the ocean itself normally did. There weren't words, but symbols and patterns, images depicting magic of the dark kind.  
Moana gazed at it, stepping over the lines as she walked around, trying to depict the full image and understand what it meant, and possibly, if it had any power, and more importantly, if it was holding any power over her.

There was the images of magic, wrapping around creatures and people, then those people growing, smaller, and even fading, their lines shallower in the rock beneath. Moana frowned the more she saw, flicking away more sand every now and then to see an image more clearly.  
There was no doubt about it. The carving was some type of curse, or spell, binding her and possibly being the thing which was sapping her strength unnaturally. Moana thought of a way she could test it, and clicked her fingers triumphantly.

She walked up to a wall and, while watching the floor carving carefully, took a deep breath and pulled her fist back. She punched the wall and cried out, bringing her fist into her chest immediately, cradling it. She hadn't broken anything by the feel of it, but it had left bad cuts and it stung. She turned to the floor, hissing to try dull the pain.

Which apparently was useless.

The carvings in the floor shimmered for a second, subtly, like fish scales in the sunlight. It rushed across the floor like a wave, then disappeared, but left behind was another burst of pain in Moana's fist, and tears sprang to her eyes. The dull throb turned to a sharp and far more irritable pain. Not enough to be unrealistic, but enough to make her head hurt.

She realised the same had happened when she had skimmed the bottom of her foot. It shouldn't have hurt as much as it did, and had stung far clearer for longer than usual.

Maybe it was taking her wakefulness. She knew she needed sleep because of everything that had happened over the day or two, but this was a different kind of need.  
Just not a pull to sleep, but a push, rough and angry.

Moana let out a _hmph,_ scowling angrily at the ground.

"Well, unluckily for you, stupid floor, Maui isn't just all muscles." She then tried to remember what Maui had said to her about curses. Her Gramma Tala ( _I'll always love you Gramma,)_ had taught her a little of the legends of magic and power, but Maui had clarified and taught her a little. Hina had added to this knowledge, telling Moana about the kind of power she'd had as a goddess.  
 _  
"Jinxes and spells are easy, but they're just as easy to break if the other person knows what they're doing. A curse is a little more difficult both ways, and you never know where those consequences are going to land. They might even bite the curser in the butt as well as cursed." Hina had said_.  
 _"And there's only a few little words you need to get rid of a basic spell_." _Maui had replied with a little smile, cocky and charming as always.  
Of course Moana had asked, "What are they?"  
Together the demi's looked at each other, and Moana was jealous of how synced they were sometimes.  
They replied together. "Go spell. Haere takikupu."_

Moana gasped in excitement at the memory, then immediately said, (probably louder than necessary), "Haere takikupu!"

There was a sudden pain behind her eyes which made her stumble and cry out, her back crashing against the rough wall, but it soon receded like a slow wave on a calm day, and did not return. There was the sound of shifting sand, as around her the sand she'd gathered to the sides of the walls moved and warped and started to swirl in a miniature sand storm. Moana closed her eyes and turned her head away, shrinking down to her knees and tucking everything into a tiny ball as grains of sand dug into her skin in their speed.

They stung at her skin, but the pain didn't last long, and neither did the storm inside a chamber. Moana waited until all the sand had presumably settled around her, and she looked up.

The markings, the carvings, the images, even the sand, were all gone.

Moana looked down at her hand, seeing that the cuts had turned to normal grazes and a few bruises. The bruises from bashing at the walls earlier had also slightly receded. Even her tired mind seemed less bothersome than it had a minute ago.

And the smell.

There wasn't one.

Moana stumbled over to the water, put her face right over it, and took a deep whiff in.

There wasn't a smell.

"YES! Yes, yes, yes! Wahoo!" Moana yelled, punching the air. Then, for good measure of testing everything around her, she took a deep breath in, and dived. _  
_


	10. Chapter 9: New Friends

_Sorry this took a while guys but i have had assignments and tests and excursions and personal business bashing me at every angle. Please be patient with me guys, I sometimes have to go weeks without writing things because i just cannot afford to. I already do way too much art when i should be passing my subjects at school, so writing and archery and work and friends (and watching Moana and Beauty and the Beast -old and new- on a loop,) does take up some of my time.  
_ _Anyway, hope you enjoy and remember I do not own Maui, moana, Te Fiti etc. but my OC's are mine._

* * *

The chamber was enormous. Ahonui had to bite his bottom lip to stop from gasping, as he gazed from the corner he was hiding behind. Instead of being a flat floor, it had several rises and dips in the ground, and the roof must have been almost a hundred feet above his head. The demons and creatures were arranging themselves, and Ahonui saw that the shark and barracuda forms had changed into something more humanoid, but like Te Tamaroa, they were grotesque and scary in appearance. The head red shark was lithe and strong looking, but large teeth poked through his bloodied and scarred lips, and his eyes were as dark as the bottom of the ocean.

Others like Tamatoa stayed in their form, even though the coconut crab himself still looked unimpressed, although he was surrounded by treasures.  
By the gods, the treasures!

They covered the walls, piled against them in mounds. It wasn't like Tamatoa's hoard though. These were not glittering shiny gold, but weapons and jewellery and food, statues made of coral that Ahonui swore would sometimes move. But no matter how much he looked, Ahonui couldn't spot Maui's hook. But, he still had to stick close to Te Tamaroa. It was still his highest chance of finding it.

A particularly large rise in the chamber was in the very centre, directly under some form of life that Ahonui couldn't find the source of. It was here that Te Tamaroa, in his strange human form, took his place. He stood patiently, waiting for the others to settle, and a few moments later the chamber was silent.

"My friends," Te Tamaroa said, opening his dark arms with a smile. Ahonui saw a few of them snigger, Tamatoa included. The red shark stayed silent and still. "I have invited you here today because we all face a very common problem."

"Yeah, you!" One of the Tern's called out, earning some chuckles.

"All of us are problems to each other. But this is minor, compared to what we really face." Te Tamaroa continued with the same smile. Ahonui had to hand it to the psychopathic creep, his voice was smooth and caught attention. "I have been a god for thousands upon thousands of years," He started pacing on his small stand, turning on the spot to address the whole room, "Many of you have been around as long as I have. And what has always been our major problem? Our annoyance? The cause for the lack of power that we once possessed."

Mouths twisted and eyes squinted in suspicion. Ahonui wasn't alone in wondering where this was going. He was particularly interested in the red shark. Sharks are not usually a danger, but as large and powerful as these, being controlled or encouraged by another force, this could be another dead age for the WayFinder.

Te Tamaroa had the whole chambers interest now.

"Humans. My fellow gods made them sprout from the earth and water, to live as mortals. And ever since they have existed, our kind, the dark," he looked at the tern Ka-poe-kino-manu, "The dangerous," he gestured towards the Ka-poe-kina-mano, "And the bold," he swept his hand across towards the others, and even Tamatoa lowered his crossed arms, his face slackening, "Have been oppressed and tossed to live in the blackest corners of the earth while these humans drink the finest of Kava, while we should be drinking their life blood."  
 _  
Where is he_ _going_ _with this?!_ Ahonui thought, his eyebrows coming close together as he watched.

"And what do you suppose we do about it?" One of the Tern forms asked, hopping forward once on her legs, tilting her head. Her beak was the sharpest of all and her feathers pristine, despite the cuts on her legs.

"Simple. We destroy them. If we create a revolt of all our kinds, all the demons, dreadful and the dead inside, we will have the largest and most dangerous army of them all." Te Tamaroa said with a cocky smile. However, it was quickly expelled when only laughter from dozens of demons met his suggestion. Only the red shark and

Tamatoa seemed to be unentertained.

"You're a fool eel-head." Growled one of the Barracuda humanoids with good humour. "The gods would never allow it. They'd blast us out like how you blew your chances with Hina."

This earned a surprising amount of laughter. To Te Tamaroa's credit, he didn't flinch, glare, anything.

"But look where Hina is now? Almost a mortal, confined to the earth." He answered easily.

"So you suggest we try attack all the other gods? Ha!" Laughed the first tern, her wings twitching as she laughed. "We'll never be able to. You're a god, but we are simply the scraps, the leftovers, of their creations."

"My dear Teuila, we won't have to. Even the gods wouldn't be able to stop the host I am planning on building. Most of them cannot even return to the mortal world without being bonded here for ever. I am one of the only gods that belongs to both worlds."

No one was laughing now. This was looking far more serious than they were used to. A revolt, against the humans and without the gods will. And they had the capability to do it.

"What about Maui and Hina? And, this Moana?"

The whole room turned to look at the head shark.

"If gods cannot fight us, Katao my friends, then what is two demi-gods?" Te Tamaroa smiled.

"Two determined demi-gods, and a mortal whose friend is the very ocean around you. If you are not careful, Te Tamaroa, you may be suffocated by your own home. My kind are healthy. I will not put myself into this foolishness." He spoke with finality.

"But the rest of us are not!" Tamatoa spat. "That blasted Maui ripped off my leg and stole my hook from me. I will eat him the next chance I get."

"What if I told you all that I had both? Maui and Hina, and their mortal friends too." Te Tamaroa said.

Tamatoa paused.

"You'd be lying." Katao stated matter-of-factly.

And now Ahonui could see what Te Tamatoa had been doing the whole time. It was the height of manipulation. He had raised their hopes, only for doubt to creep in from Katao's words, but now those doubts could be crushed violently by the evidence that the slimy eel really did have the two demi-gods under his fist. With this, they would want to join him.

Ahonui swallowed with worry.

Te Tamaroa stamped his foot once, and the sound reverberated through the chamber, making the demons shuffle uncomfortably. There was a rumbling beneath the rise that Te Tamaroa stood upon.

"Tamatoa, you are the one who has had the most taken from you by the demi-god Maui. He stole your leg, your dignity, then your precious hook. He tricked you and betrayed what friendship you once had." Te Tamaroa cried as the rumbling increased, and the ground below opened into a small crevice. "I give to _you,_ Maui's hook, to gain your power to my cause."

From the crevice came a small column on top of which stood two of Te Tamaroa's princes, and between them they held the legendary magical hook. Ahonui's eyes went wide, and he saw the other demons gasp. Tamatoa gasped the loudest, then yelled,

"Get out of my way," and hastily scrambled his way towards it, pushing other demons roughly. He stopped just before the two princes, staring at the glorious hook in awe, his two claws held either side of his face, pushing his cheeks. If he was anything else, he might have looked kind of cute.

"It's yours my friend." Te Tamaroa said, indicating to it.

Tamatoa delicately took it from the princes, who disappeared once more into the crevice which closed over when they were gone.

"You have my vote." Tamatoa said gladly, grinning, while placing the hook onto the top of his golden pile.

"And mine!" Cried out Teuila,

"And ours!" Yelled the barracuda and octopus and other demons. All except the sharks, who were looking dark and unimpressed.

"I will not." Katao said calmly, but he was glaring at the other demons. He did not look at Te Tamaroa. "It is not the humans who have pushed you back, nor is it Maui, it is your own cowardess and wounded pride. My Ka-poe-kina-mano have nothing against the humans or the demi-gods or the gods like Te-Fiti."

"We're leaving!" one of his kind yelled, possibly his son or prince.

"Very well," Te Tamaroa said, not bothered. The sharks, glowering in their annoyance, made their way back, and Ahonui panicked as he realised they were coming his way. He backed away along the wall slowly. But he would have to stop eventually, because he did not have the power to open the exit, and they would see him before they did it themselves.

But Ahonui thought back on their expression, their reaction. Katao made it clear that he had nothing against humans, and he had looked more and more angry at the other demons as they rallied to Te Tamaroa.  
 _  
If he could help me steal Maui's hook, we could put a stop to this,_ he thought, biting his lip and his fists tightening. He could try hide as a mound of seaweed here in the tunnel, but he would then have to steal the hook back without anyone's help…and the more help he could get, the better.

When he saw their shadows enter the tunnel, he made up his decision, and slid back further until he had reached where he had come in, and waited.

As they got closer, he realised how big they were. A head taller than Maui, but nowhere near as muscled. It was their cores that had the greatest muscle, and looked like they were built to move and twist, not lift and bash. Their arms were corded but smooth and thin. Each was a different colour, some with patterns like stripes or tips on their shoulders. Katao led the front, two deep greens closely behind.

Ahonui took a deep breath, then stepped from the shadows a dozen feet before them.

The sharks saw him and stopped, their expressions unchanging.

"Open the exit." Katao commanded.

"I can't." Ahonui said breathily, trying to keep quiet without whispering, then he removed some of the sea-weed from around his face. The Shark's faces changed finally, some surprised, some simply confused. Katao raised an eyebrow, and lowered his voice, to Ahonui's internal gratitude.

"What is a human doing here? You've come

"I know about the negotiations. Te Tamaroa captured me along with Hina, Maui and Moana."

"Then you best get away from here." Katao replied, but didn't move.

"No. I need to help them out and I need your help to help me help them out." Ahonui tried not to stumble on his own words. He was terrified. Any minute now they could call out to Te Tamaroa and the other demons or monsters, and he would be killed or thrown back into another stronger cell.

Or worse. The sharks just might decide they were hungry after all and take him out to rip him to bloody pieces in the water.

"Why should we help you, human?" Katao simply stated, his head tilted uncertainly.

"You'd be doing a favour for a few grateful demi-gods, and you'd be stopping all kinds of monsters disturbing the balance of the world."

"Some of those _monsters_ are related to our kind." One of the deep green Ka-poe-kina-mano ones replied with a snap.

"Then why are they the ones planning on attacking my world, and not you?" Ahonui asked, trying to look timid. "Don't be oblivious to this danger, please. I promise you'll be favoured by humans if you help us fight Te Tamaroa and his new army he plans on making."

"We don't need favour from humans." Another one growled.

Ahonui was losing them, he could see it. He had to think of something impressive, fast. Some of them even started moving past him, only their leader and a few staying still.

"Wait!" he said, and the moving ones paused. "You get to kick Te Tamaroa's butt."

A few of them looked at each other, and Katao smiled a little.

"Sharks and eels practically hate each other, right? And I didn't see you exactly calling him _friend._ " Ahonui was just talking to Katao now.

"I want to see how tough that Tamatoa is." Replied one of the other sharks, but Ahonui didn't see who.

"Te Tamaroa has always looked down on us." One of the deep greens said to Katao.

"If you have nothing against humans, or the gods, then _help us survive."_ Ahonui pleaded, ignoring how so many dark eyes were focused on him.

Katao finally smiled and nodded. "So how is exactly do we release your friends?"

* * *

Maui gripped Hina's legs as tight as he could without hurting her. If she fell, it would just add to her weakness. However determined she was to not let it show, he could tell that the strength was constantly being sapped.

She was heavy on his shoulder, but not enough to be uncomfortable, as she bashed and dug away at the roof with the sharp rock in hand.

Maui stood with his legs a little splayed across the rock pile they had made of the rocky scraps from when he had bashed through the wall. He tried not to think about the blood he could see on Hina's legs and arms, or notice her strain. He wanted her to rest, but he knew she would refuse. She would rather fall dead exhausted trying to escape then just sit around and do what she called 'nothing,' which was what he thought would actually be 'healing'. She didn't heal as fast as him but fast enough.

"How far have we gone through?" he asked, trying to keep a conversation going.

"About a foot and a half." She panted, gritting her teeth to dig harder. She grunted in annoyance in pain as she accidently crushed some of her fingers with the rock.

She pulled back her hand to keep going, but Maui stepped back away from the pile, carrying her with him.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she asked.

"You need a break." He stated, grabbing her by the waist and lowering her.

"We need to get _out_." She said, stepping back towards the pile, but he stood in front of her to bar the way.

"We can't do that if you're about to drop dead. I'll dig for a while, you go to sleep."

"What about you!? You bashed through a wall and have had me standing on your shoulder for half an hour, you need a rest to."

"I didn't get beat up by a pair of gods Hina." He snapped. Then he sighed, and softened his tone, "Please, just go to sleep. We'll do shifts."

Her mouth twisted, and she looked away, but he could tell she had resigned. "Fine." She growled. "But as soon as you need a break, let me know."

He nodded, and turned back to the digging. He grabbed a rock in his right hand, and jumped, grabbing onto a hand hold in the roof with his left, hanging there, then started bashing away at the rock in the hole they had made. It was uncomfortable and tricky, but it was enough, and the next time he looked over his shoulder to check on Hina, she was fast asleep, curled up against the wall. He smiled, then continued digging.

Eventually however, he grew sleepy. He didn't often get sleepy, but so many things had been going, and Hina had been a little right when she had said he might need a rest too. And the digging was tricky work with how he had to manage without the extra height of Hina on his back.

He dropped the rock absent minded, and yawned, then let go of the roof, landing on the pile. He walked down it, immediately refusing the idea of waking Hina up, and looked around for a place to sleep.

He didn't want to acknowledge the fact that he wanted to sleep right next to Hina, possibly even snuggling his face into her shoulder blades, so he shrugged the feeling away and went to the other side of the chamber. He sat down, then tilted until he landed on his side, shuffled around a little, and closed his eyes.

* * *

Moana was still surprised every time that she managed to sneak past some eels unnoticed. She was feeling a bit of pride too. She'd managed to undo whatever had been done to her chamber so that she could escape, and it was proving a very triumphant feat. She kicked her legs vigorously to get to the next air pocket, glancing around for the eels who might spot her, but nothing dark came streaming for her, and she made it inside another air chamber.

She burst to the rocky ledge, gasping in air, and pulled herself up for a rest.  
 _  
Okay. So, what now?_ She thought to herself, looking around without much care. She had left her chamber in a haste, not thinking it through very well. She had simply been so desperate to get out of there, to escape the suffocating confinements of the lifeless walls accompanied by a floor that had drained her strength.

She had to find the others, but she had no idea how to do that. When she had seen the size of the closed off lagoon she was in, she almost lost hope. She could be _anywhere_ , and so could they. They could have been right next to her, or on the other side, or not here at all. Again, she pushed away the thoughts that they could be dead.

It was then that she noticed the marks in the sand she was sitting on. Pausing, she gazed at them.

They were hand prints, and other rub markings as if someone had sat here just like she was. She put her hand in the print nearest to her, and it was definitely bigger than her own. But they weren't as big as Maui's or Hina's, and not as monstrously large as Te Tamaroa's or his sons.

There was only one other person she could think of that made sense.

Ahonui.  
 _  
He was here!_ Moana looked around desperately, but there was no other signs. He must have only been here for a short amount of time.  
 _That means he's escaped! He's moving around to air pockets just like I am._ Moana felt a strange pride and soft love for him at that moment, and more importantly, a spark of hope. If she could find him, it would make things easier and better for the both of them.

She caught her breath, took in as much air as she could, and then slipped back into the water.

Things, believe it or not, got harder from then on for Moana. Every shadow could be a friend or an enemy, and she had to be extra careful to identify which one was which, because if she didn't, it could mean her death. But also if she missed identifying the shadow, it could have been Ahonui and she would have missed him without even knowing it.

It meant Moana had to poke her head out more often and risk being seen. It was terrifying, and she couldn't tell which one she hated more.  
It took longer to make her way around the bowl, and her body, her lungs, were getting weaker. She had gone days without rest, food, or sleep. Her legs were burning and her arms were getting more sluggish with every stroke.

But as she was making her way past a strangely blank, flat, smooth part of the bowl's wall, she heard a deep rumble and groaning. The smooth wall beside her started to shift, and she gritted her teeth in shock. She kicked as hard as she could to get to the coral on the other side. She gripped onto the touch underwater plants and pulled herself among them, her hair floating around her, mimicking the movements of the sea-weed around.

The wall shifted and opened, and a large group of the biggest and most terrifying sharks she had ever seen came from within, swimming lazily with determination, but not very fast. A strange shifting blob was swimming with them.

And turned its head to look around.

Moana almost had to stop himself from calling out his name, or trying to at least. Her heart beat faster and tears almost welled up in her eyes with complete and utter gratitude. She was kicking away from the coral and beating the water with her legs and arms faster and harder than she had the whole time she'd been stuck underwater.

She swam up from beneath the sharks, and they didn't see her until she grabbed Ahonui's ankle.

He started and turned quickly, but it only took a miniature spaced moment for him to recognize her. His eyes widened and he smiled with puffed up cheeks. He swam closer to her, and she couldn't help but hug him, even though he was covered in what she realised now was sea-weed. He hugged her back, even as they floated. Looked around to see the biggest of the sharks, a scary red one, swim to them, looking at Ahonui. Ahonui pointed across to some of the openings where the air pockets were in the rock face, and the big shark nodded, then grabbed some of the strands of sea-weed in its jaws, and swam towards where Ahonui had pointed.  
once they reached an opening, Ahonui and Moana swam inside with thankful nods.

They both burst from the water at the same time, breathing in relief and in a desperate need for air.

"You're okay!" Ahonui yelled immediately, hugging her again. She gripped onto him desperately, stopping herself from sobbing.

"It's so good to see you." She said, not letting go until they both climbed into the sandy chamber to talk.

"I'm just glad we're both alive." He responded, placing a hand on the side of her neck, probably without realising. She giggled at his appearance. "What's with all the sea-weed?"  
He looked down at himself with a smile. "A disguise."  
 _  
A disguise! Why didn't I think of that?_

"That would have made everything easier if I'd thought of that. But what are you doing with a group of _Ha-poe-kina-mano!"_ She screeched.

He shrugged. "I made some friends."

At that moment a dark shadow rose from the water. Moana stepped back as a large humanoid form of the Ka-poe-kina-mano followed them into the chamber.

"Is this one of your friends?" he asked.

"Yes, Katao, thankfully." Ahonui breathed out.

"No, seriously, what are you doing with them?" Moana asked, eyeing the shark-man warily.

Ahonui smiled widely, at Moana, then Katao, then back to Moana. "They're helping me steal Maui's hook back."


	11. Chapter 10 Where have you been victory?

_So sorry that I've been out of action guys. I had exams and just wasn't in a Moana mood, but I am at the moment, so I'll try and get a few chapters done while I'm in it.  
Remember I do not own Moana's characters or settings, and if I do make some offensive mistakes in my attempt at writing about the native language of the pacific islands etc please let me know BUT I do own my OC's mostly so please do not steal ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS. I LOVE THEM AND THEY'RE GREAT SO…yeah_

Katao knelt in the chamber before them, the rest of his clan, including his three princes, behind him.

"From what we know, there must only be one major entrance and exit, probably so Te Tamaroa can monitor it easily, or his dim-witted princes can."  
He draws in the sand the bowl that they're in.

"We're in this pocket, and their meeting is being held here. I was a fool not to leave one of my own behind to overhear what they are planning. We're going into this war with a little less advantage."

"We're trying to stop the war before it happens." Moana says strongly. "For now, we just need Maui's hook."  
Katao looks at her sceptically, but then takes a breath in and continues. "I think our best chance is to wait for all of them to leave, then follow Tamatoa and snatch it while he's off guard."

"We don't know when that will happen." Ahonui says, looking at Katao's growing map. One of Katao's princes kneels next to his father and starts adding additions to it. He was silent while he worked, but everyone started watching him as he drew in the sand of the chamber floor. Eventually he was finished, and there was accurate positioning of all the air pockets. Well, they could assume that's what it was.

The prince stood back as his father stared at the extra drawings.

"Here." He points. "That's where you said Hina and Maui are being kept?"

Ahonui nods. "The largest eels apart from Te Tamaroa himself were there."

"We can't go get them until we have Maui's hook. But somehow we have to know if they're in there. If we aren't sure, we're blind, and it creates another problem."

Katao sits back in his heels, staring at the sand.

Moana realises with a slight nervous shiver that the sharks do not blink.

"Above." The voice was gravelly and dangerous.

"Taumamua?" Katao asks, turning to a deep, almost dirty, blue-grey shark. One of Katao's three sons, the largest of them. The son, like the other, kneels next to them.

"Someone goes above, onto the rock, and digs down."

"Digs? With what?" Ahonui asks.

"Well how did you get out?" Moana asks, tilting her head.

"I uh…I dug." He looks away, turning reddish brown. "And then I climbed."

"Air pockets will be littering this area. It's either limestone or volcanic rock." One of the other sharks added. Moana tried not to be unnerved by how they all stood completely still, listening and watching the conversation, all their brains turning. It seems they had a quiet order to how they added information, unlike how humans would be babbling and cackling to try make their ideas heard.

"Therefore we need to dig in places until we find an air pocket above them to make the job easier." Katao says.

"Okay, that's getting them out, or getting to them. But what about getting the hook?" Ahonui says.

"We don't know when this gathering is going to end, and whether Tamatoa is going to be alone anytime soon." Moana ads.

"Maybe we don't have to wait." Ahonui whispers next to her.

Everyone waits for him to elaborate, and he licks his lips and rubs his jawline as he stares at the map, then nods to himself.

"Yeah. We don't have to wait at all. We draw them out. We might not even have to dig for Maui and Hina either."

"Make your point boy." Katao says impatiently.

"What if we just spark a huge attack? All of your clan attacks the eels-,"

"No." Katao says.

"Wh…what?" Ahonui stutters.

"I entered this situation but I will not put my _whole clan_ at risk of death. There are hundreds of eels and we will die if we pull a stunt like that."

"You're _sharks._ You've got a hundred teeth-,"

"And they've got two sets of teeth. I will help, but not like that, not without Maui and Hina."

Ahonui looked down and nodded. Moana bit her lip, and says,  
"Okay, no attacking the eels, but Ahonui might have a point. We can still draw them out somehow."

"We attack each other." Holokai, Katao's second son, speaks up.

Katao pouts and nods. "We can do that. You boys can sort out your usual bickering in it while it draws the demons out. We snatch the hook, get to Maui and Hina, and then we'll be strong enough to beat them back. Once the ka-poe-kina-manu see Maui with his hook again beside that mad goddess Hina, they'll fly so fast they'll lose their feathers. Ka-poe-kina-ia will fight the eels almost immediately. Barracuda and Eels are bigger rivals than we are with them."

"Then why did they join?" Moana asks.

"Wanted a fight. Their tempers are something dangerous."

"So, we have a plan?" Ahonui asks.

"Go over it again, to see if we missed anything." Moana says, and all the Shark demons sit around as they smoothed the plan out, although all knew that things could change.

* * *

When Hina awoke and saw Maui passed out by the wall a little ways away, her first feeling was fury, that powered her arms to push her into a sitting position violently. She was about to stand, to storm over to him and kick him in the side for not waking her, but before she could, the fury vanished.

She saw his face. Saw the calm expression as he caught up on sleep and healed from whatever injuries he'd inflicted over the last couple of days. Something in her calmed like never before and she sighed as she looked at him, but looked away before she got too attached to the sight. She had to keep working to get them out, but quietly so she didn't wake him.

Her body still ached, but was doing a hell of a lot better than she had before. Her stomach was twisting in on itself however, and she gritted her teeth to ignore it. She climbed up the rock pile, while picking up the rock they had been using before, but quickly realised she couldn't do it without Maui.

An internal argument immersed within her, as her arm dropped and she thought about it.

Naturally her instincts were screaming to get out. To wake Maui and to continue smashing through this suffocating cage.  
But the other, the calm side when it saw Maui so peaceful, rationalised it.  
 _  
Maui had a point. We can't keep going exhausted and broken. I can't do it without him, and he's asleep. I could use as much rest as I can get, so…  
_  
She looked at her spot, feeling suddenly cold.

She dropped the stone and walked over to the water opening to the far side of the cave.

It still seemed…off, and strange. Whatever was deterring her in the water, was still there. She moved her tongue on the inside of her mouth, searching for moisture, but found nothing.  
 _  
Te Tamaroa…I'm going to murder you for this._

To be hungry was typical. To be thirsty, however, was a pain in her very nice neck! And this thirst was growing particularly painful.

She looked at the water one last time before she went to go back to her sleeping place, but movement made her turn and look at Maui.  
He was shifting, but Hina watched him for only a few moments to realise it wasn't good.

She walked over cautiously, looking around for danger. She watched Maui carefully as she got closer, and he started to shift and turn and toss in his now fitful sleep.  
"Maui?" she whispered, but it grew worse.

Something changed in the air, in the rock around them. Nothing moved apart from Maui and Hina, but things felt different, like the corruption of the water was seeping into Maui's sleep. He mumbled, and his especially expressive brow twitched in trouble.

Something like concern grew in Hina's chest.

She knelt by him, but resisted the urge to place her hand on his shoulder. She wasn't going soft just because the baby was having a nightmare.

And it appeared more and more so.

He started mumbling and looking…scared.

The intensity in the room grew and Hina shuffled closer, leaning down.

"Maui?" _Wake up dammit, you're freaking me out._

He grew worse, whining and tossing, his forehead broke out into a sweat and his muscles tensed and relaxed and his hair got sand in it as he moved. She reached to brush it out but he was moving more. His tossing was starting to freak her out.

She tensed her jaw. _Grow some balls Hina!_

She grabbed his shoulder and shook, yelling "Maui! Maui! MAUI!"

He woke. His eyes were crazy and he was breathing hard. "H…Hina?"

"Jeez Maui." She sits back on her heels, dragging her arm back quickly, like she'd touched ice. "You were scaring the crap out of me. Are you okay?"

"I don't know." He says quietly, starting to sit up. "I was having nightm-… dreams."

"Nightmares, and don't deny it. You were going to dig a hole in the ground with how much you were moving." Hina says, about to snort in annoyance, but sees Maui, almost shaking in shock or fear, and doesn't.

"I can't even remember what was in it." He says, just as quietly. He places his head in his hands slowly, and shudders once. "I just…it was horrifying."  
Hina couldn't think of anything to say. What to do was obvious, but of course she hesitated with the idea. She wasn't sure if hugging him would make him feel better or worse. He was silent, trying to stabilise himself, but she could sense how difficult it was for him.

"It's okay. Whatever it was, it wasn't real." She says, putting a hand to the side of his head softly. He seemed to relax at her touch, and even pressed further into her palm. She sighed, brushing a thumb over his cheek as he dropped his hands to his lap, his eyes closed but his eyebrows close together, in pain, in worry, in a feeling of being _trapped,_ by everything and everyone, including his own emotions.

"Once we get out of this creepy place, everything will be fine." She speculates out loud.

"Will it though?" he asks quietly, opening his eyes to look at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Between us, will everything be fine?"

She frowned. "Of course. Nothing would have ch…" she trailed off, unsure of her own words, of her own thoughts. Her emotions had once been so simple and easy to handle. Yes, she'd felt things for him, or still does, but nothing was happening as a result. It was a simple task of ignoring it. Now…she couldn't ignore it. Where his cheek pressed to her hand, she buzzed and tingled and the feeling went straight to her heart.

"We'll deal with it later, when we're out."

"And if we never get out?" he says, sounding angry, but not at her she guessed.

"We have to."

"And what if we do-,"

"Stop it Maui!" She snaps loudly. He lowers his head with a tight face. "We're getting out, and then we can worry about…whatever else we have to."

He nods, but his expression, and the annoyed, frustrated, helpless feelings radiating from him didn't change. She sighs, and then leans forward and hugs him, tightly.  
It felt weird and natural and thrilling all at the same time. His arms were hesitant, but then he hugs her in return. He presses his face into the space of her shoulder and neck, and it sets Hina's heart hammering, but such relief and comfort pressed into her at the same time, that she welcomed it.

It was a while before both of them realised they didn't want to let go. Maui took a deep breath in and out, and curled his arms closer, almost completely engulfing her within his branches of muscle. She rubbed her face into the side of his head, into the once-silky-now-messy curls.

"Hina?" Maui says quietly.

She feels herself heat up in embarrassment. She knew she'd been holding him for too long. She draws away quickly.

"No don't." he grabs her wrists and pulls her back. "I need a hug."

"Then what..?"

"I was going to thank you, you dim moon." He says with an almost silent chuckle.

She smiles, her throat clenching as she stops her tears before they even _think_ of getting past her eyelids. "That's okay."

They sat in the dim chamber, holding each other tightly, for a long time.

"Are we ever going to get out?" Hina whispers, sounding pathetically childish and weak to herself. Maui, the ever knowing demi-god, pulls his head back and smiles at her, their faces centimetres apart.

"Muscle up buttercup, because we _have_ to get out of here."

"Oh yeah? Why so keen?" She asks slyly, feeling her fear start to ebb away.

"Because then I can kiss you."

"Kiss my _ass_ lover-god, 'cause I'm getting out of here first." She leaped away from his arms, running for the rock pile, and just as she grabbed onto a rock and was about to leap for the small opening they had made, she felt a snag on her ankle, and was pulled down.

Maui had a hold of her leg and had a mischievous look on his face.  
"Careful now, you might hurt yourse-,"

Hina kicked the rock out from underneath his right foot, and he looked down in surprise just as he tumbled away, dragging Hina with him.  
They were bruised, they were weakened, and they were trapped, but when thy hit the ground in a tumble, they were laughing.

"At least this isn't all doom and gloom." Maui says, rolling into a sitting position.

"Speak for yourself _rock head._ Now get me on those rolly-polly shoulders of yours so we can get the hell out of here."

* * *

Ahonui and Moana waited impatiently in another air pocket, closer to the entrance of the huge chamber that the demons were having their meeting with Te Tamaroa. Moana paced and bit her nails while Ahonui sat crossed legged on the ground. Neither of them spoke as they listened for any sign of the shark demons.  
Ahonui watched Moana worriedly. She was growing more nervous by the second, even though the pack of sharks had only been gone a few minutes.

"Moana, relax."

She shot him a look.

"I meant, relax, please?" he says nervously, ducking his head apologetically. In situations like this, sometimes he forgot she was to be his chief.

She huffed sadly, the _plonked_ herself onto the ground next to him, her leg bouncing while she bites her lip.

"Moana," Ahonui says softly, putting a gentle hand on her arm. She looks up at him, a little surprised at first, but it fades. "You have to relax. Trust in Katao. I know it's been a while since you left your life in someone else's hands but…"

She deflates. "I know. You're right, I can't keep this up if I start doubting everything."

Ahonui nods, drawing his hand away. Moana brings her arms up and wraps them around herself, shivering slightly.

"Did you see all those demons?" She asks quietly. "So many things that want to destroy us."

" _Te Tamaroa,_ wasn't to destroy us, the others just want something to fight. They had complete control and power over the oceans for a thousand years while the heart of Te Fiti was missing, and that was taken away by you and Maui so suddenly. You even went to their own realm and came back alive, which no mortal has ever done!" Ahonui took a deep breath in, finding himself smiling at her reassuringly. "They're scared of you Moana, of _you,_ a mortal who beat their asses back where they belong. _You_ who returned Teka back to her natural form, and saved the world, with the help of a lumbering mumbling idiot."

Moana hits him in the arm roughly with a laugh. "That idiot is my best friend, and Hina's…friend."

"I'm not a fool Moana, I can see what's going on between them. It makes me sad."

"Sad!?" Moana yells, offended. Ahonui immediately holds his hands up in defense.

"I only mean, because, well, they're not exactly…the type."

Moana crosses her arms and pouts. "The type of what?!"

"Not the type _of,_ the type _for_. The type for that kind of, I don't know, emotion. They both seem so scared to be honest, to be shut down by the other one. For a long time, they've been the only ones they can rely on. Maui found you, but Hina…They only just found each other again, and I think they're holding back because of the system that's now been created, and they're afraid of messing it up."

"Oh." Moana turned away. "I didn't think of that. I wondered why it was taking so long. Hina told me they'd been dancing around the subject for so long, but she'd been a god and him a demi-god, so it hadn't really worked."

"Until now." Ahonui says, and, she nods.

"Except they're afraid."

She nods again, and rubs her arms. Ahonui goes to reach out and try war her up, but immediately draws away, almost flinching.

She sees it, and gives him a nervous smile.

"Are we afraid as well?" She asks.

Ahonui looks at her sadly, tilts his head, and says quietly, "I think so."

Moana goes to shuffle closer, hoping to place her head on his shoulder, but there's ripples from the water, and both stand up quickly. Ahonui goes to stand closer, but Moana puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Wait," she says quietly, staring at the water. Ahonui tenses when he realises what she's anticipating, and takes a deep breath.

They both jump slightly when a head pops from the water, but immediately sigh in relief when they see the jagged teeth and scary, yet familiar eyes.

"You two better get ready." The youngest shark prince says. "My brothers are riling up, and they're catching the attention of the eels."

"How's the work above Maui and Hina?" Ahonui asks, kneeling down next to the pool, Moana kneeling next to him.

"We've found that they are in those pockets you predicted, and they're getting through fast. We did send three to dig down, but they have to return to the water every couple of minutes. We're still mostly sharks."

"Of course." Moana says, "Are they getting close?"

"Incredibly so. Never thought my uncles could really work that fast." He then mumbles, "they're kind of lazy compared to my father, actually."

"Come get us as soon as Tamatoa emerges to see what's going on." Moana says strongly, and the prince nods, before disappearing under the water again.

"You know what Palu?" Ahonui says with a smile, sitting back.

"What?" she asks, finding herself smiling again, despite the fear and nervousness that had manifested since they got trapped here.

"We're actually getting out. We're getting out, and at the same time, stopping a catastrophic war. You're saving the world again, Palu."

" _We're_ saving the world."

"You."

"We."

Ahonui frowns. "You. Yu got yourself out of your chamber."

"So did you!" She says, laughing.

"Oh. Well, yeah, but I mean, I wasn't very high security." He mumbles.

She shrugs. "It doesn't matter. You're right. We're actually on our way out of here."

* * *

Hina takes a few deep breaths, and rubs her forehead into her shoulder briefly, trying to regain her bearings.

"Do you need a break?" Maui asks from below her, for the hundredth time.

"Nooooo." She drools back. "It's just harder now."

And it was. They had dug so far that Hina had needed to start stretching to reach the point she was digging at. If they didn't find an air pocket soon, they'd be doomed. She might have to start going on tip toes, and then Maui might, and if they still haven't found one by then, all that effort was for nothing.  
Maui rubs his face against her shin tenderly, but not too tender. Comfortably.

"We'll find one." He says confidently, immediately knowing what she's thinking about.

"Why so sure?" She asks with a smile, reaching up to crack away more of the wall.

Her body moves quickly up and down as Maui shrugs his shoulders. "You're a good luck charm."

"I have a thousand points to counter that theory." She growls, thinking obviously of the fact that as soon as she arrives into the mortal world, it's pretty much under  
threat of being destroyed.

"Logic doesn't count."

"But that doesn't make any-,"

"Doesn't count."

Hina sighs in annoyance, and bashes strongly to vent her annoyance, and also the energy in her blood from Maui's tender rub of his face to her leg.  
That had been a nice feeling.  
She bitterly shook her head slightly and kept going.

Maui had started humming a tune when they both heard something.  
Maui fell silent and Hina stopped in her digging, the rock held in her hand, her arm upright, and her eyes wide.  
The sound came again. It was like a crumbly, crunching sound. From…

Above.

There was the tiniest of air pocket holes, only the side of Hina's fist, above them. It was enough for the sound to carry through.

Hina didn't think. She just yelled, "Hello!?"

The sounds stopped, and then a deep, scary voice. "Talofa lava!"

"Talofa lava!" Maui and Hina yelled. "Who's there?"

"Katao's brothers, shark lord of the Ha-poe-kina-mano."

Hina growled slightly, the relief she had felt scattering. "What do you want!?"

"We're friends. Moana sent us."

Maui and Hina looked at each other, Hina's heart hitting the sky, that's how high it flew at Moana's name.

"Is she safe!?" Both demi-gods asked loudly.

"Yes, her and the boy."

"Ahonui too." Hina says, a weird giddy feeling boiling up her chest. "Maui they're out!"

"Hello?" the voice yelled again.

"We're here." Maui yells, smiling up at Hina.

"Good. Moana and Ahonui are trying to get your hook back with the rest of our family, Maui."

"Can you help us out?" Hina asks.

"Yes. There's a huge air pocket right above your heads."

"Told you." Maui says to Hina with a wink.

"We'll dig to it, then throw us a rope." Hina yells back.

"We're on it."  
The sound of them disappear, and Hina uses the strength she could muster to break away the rest of the rock.

A strange and twisted tunnel like cavern appears above them as the last of the rock falls away. Hina blinks at the sudden natural daylight.  
Maui grabs her by the legs and pulls her down, and they embraced with such force neither of them could hardly breathe.

"Maui we're getting out." Hina whispers excitedly, hardly believing it. There was every chance that this was a trap, but she wasn't going to believe that unless it happens. She couldn't do that. Not now, when they were so close. Not now, when she was feeling freedom bound closer to her like a long lost friend.

She felt something on her shoulder.

It had been the lightest peck of a kiss. It sent a flip of her stomach, a tingle to her spine, goose-flesh to her skin, and a clench of her heart.  
 _  
Can I do this? Can we ever really…be together. I don't know. I really don't know._

"Maui," She sighs, slightly drawing back.

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have, it just…in the moment and all. I won't do it again."  
 _  
Please do it again._

"It's okay." She says.  
 _  
It's not okay. Or is it?_

"Like I said, we'll deal with this after."  
They nod to each other in a silent pact, and let go of each other, however much they didn't want to.  
And a few minutes later, a rope of strong, semi-dried seaweed, drops down to them.


	12. Chapter 11 Demons and deim-gods

_Hey guys, got another one up. I realised I had been saying Te Tamaroa this whole time when i was meant to say Te Tunaroa, so just a heads up, that's going to return so if you get confused, that's what's happened and I will edit the other chapters to make sure it is fixed. Hope my fight scenes aren't too terrible._

* * *

Moana had stopped her fidgeting and was now staring at the water with anticipation, biting her lip slowly, with Ahonui sitting calmly next to her. His seaweed disguise had been tossed away ages ago. He was tempted to hum, but wasn't sure if that would make things worse or better, so stayed silent. He rubs a thumb back and forth across his leg, waiting. They were waiting, and it was a strange feeling. The last couple of days had been so fill of action and movement and thought…so many, too many thoughts. And feelings that he wasn't ever sure he'd find the truth about, but maybe he already was and just didn't realise.

He took a deep breath, suddenly feeling serene, watching the watery patterns play across Moana's skin, her grandmothers necklace glistening with her eyes and her dark tattoo's seemed to move like the waves they depicted. Ahonui would never understand how Moana's beauty worked. There was a stunning look to it, but the more you looked, the more you knew, you saw different factors of how her beauty fit together, inner working with the outer symbiotically. Her face had changed as she grew and matured, naturally, factors of her father coming through when before she had looked almost looked completely like her mother. There was so much of Tui in her attitude that he remembered why he feared her as much as he…liked her.

He could have dropped his face in his hands, but he stayed still.

"He's back!" Moana exclaims loudly, and Ahonui jumps to his feet as she does, just as Katao's youngest son, Heketoro appears out of the water.

"Grab on, they're emerging!" he says demandingly, so Moana and Ahonui jump into the water as he transforms back into his shark form, and they grip onto his dorsal fin as he takes off.

The tunnel weaves down, then up again, and flattens out, then they're blinking at the brighter light and looking around for Katao's two older sons among the huge sea-weed and coral.

It turns out the fight plan had developed from brother vs brother to half the clan vs the other half. Ahonui thankfully noticed there was no blood, but the sight of the sharks, in their huge natural and terrifying form, made him duck his head between his shoulders. He wanted to ask if they were still pretending, but he was holding his breath.

Heketoro hid behind some large and tangled coral next to the opening that should be where the demon lord emerge, and changed back to a humanoid form, directing them to hang onto the coral, as eels around them started swimming in curiosity and irritation around the fighting sharks, not paying attention to the two mortals and missing shark demon. He points past them towards the opening that lead to the meeting chamber, and Ahonui only then noticed that it was rumbling and that the water had the strange buzzing as it had before, that they were only a dozen or so metres away from.

The wall starts coming away, and many of the eels turn, hiss underwater, and head towards it, calling for their fathers help.

The demons emerged, Te Tunaroa at the head of the pack, once again in his eel form, the other demons in theirs. He looks around with blazing eyes, and then spots the cluster of fighting sharks above, shaking his head viciously and then streaming up towards them. The terns, barracuda, octopus, and other demons look up, some following behind curiously.

Tamatoa appears, looking unimpressed, but smiles when he sees the fight, and crosses his arms, clearly waiting for the actions to start.  
Heketoro points up, Moana and Ahonui nod in agreement, and they grip on as he changes once again, and powers them up quickly but trying to not catch the attention of the other sea demons, especially the turns or octopus that have eyesight superior to any other creatures. Heketoro sweeps up and over, pauses above Tamatoa briefly, allowing Ahonui and Moana time to shift their weight on his back, and prepare for a stunt that could kill them.

Then, at the speed of the most powerful hunter in the ocean, he rushes forward and down, making a dip arc. Ahonui and Moana reach out while still holding on.

They get closer, and closer. Ahonui tenses, not looking anywhere else except at Maui's precious hook.

And then they're reaching out and grabbing it Ahonui and Moana's hands gripping the bone hook, grabbing on as tightly as they could, and it rips from Tamatoa's shell of treasures.

He notices, they hear him cry out behind them as Heketoro goes faster towards the surface, his tail lashing back and forth. Ahonui and Moana hold themselves tightly against his side so the pressure of the water doesn't rip them off.

Ahonui doesn't see them, but he hears them, the eels noticing they've been fooled and screeching in surprise and horror, as they see the two mortals not only free, but now in the possession of Maui's hook.

Ahonui glances back just long enough to see Te Tunaroa glancing up after trying to split the sharks up, and glowers at them.

They break the surface. Ahonui visons blurs slightly as the air rushed back into him, Moana gasping beside him.

Heketoro swims quickly to an edge, and the two humans crawl out. Heketoro only just manages to make it out as Te Tunaroa's head throws itself from the water and he screeches with such defiance and anger, Ahonui doesn't even stop to think, he just starts running to where he can see Katao's brothers over a gap in the rock beneath their feet, with Maui's hook slung over his back and Moana think as fast as him.

She runs beside him, hopping over rocks and dodging holes, gaps and crevices.

Te Tunaroa growls, and then ducks his head down quickly, opening his jaws in Ahonui's direction.

"Moana!" Ahonui yells. She stops and turns. He throws the hook at her, and she catches it with hefty effort, and starts running again, just as Te Tunaroa's jaws approach. Ahonui throws himself to the ground just as a grotesque snap sounds above his head, and he crawls back as Tunaroa tries to understand why he hasn't bitten anything yet.

Ahonui's heart was hammering so much that he couldn't think, but luckily instincts were sharper than his wits.

As Te Tunaroa's eye came into view, Ahonui grabs a nearby sharp piece of rock and brings his arm down.

The stone sinks in like it was stabbing into sand, and Ahonui is thrown back as Te Tunaroa lashes his head to the side with a ground-shaking scream, roar and shriek of pain and hatred.

Ahonui runs. He runs around the edge of the bowl towards where more figures were gathering, and he looks back to see Te Tunaroa trying to look around with his other eye, and some of the barracuda and Octopus demons in their humanoid forms crawling from the water, watching him run.  
 _Please let Katao be right about them._

* * *

Hina crawled as quickly as she could upthe rope, tears almost coming to her eyes as she smelt the fresh air, and felt her heart and lungs swell as her strength started returning, the closer she got to the surface.

"Whoo Hina!" Yelled Maui from below. She didn't respond, she just giggled, and then she laughed, and laughed hysterically until her arms grabbed onto the top edges, and hauled, almost threw her body out of the hole. Katao's brothers grabbed her arms at the last second and ripped her to her feet.

She breathed deep, getting so wheezy with relief that she stumbled and tripped and ended up on her back, staring at the sky, laughing.

"Oh gods. Oh gods we're out!" She yelled, gripping her head as she took in the sight of the dusking sky. Her heart beat so hard in her chest that she didn't even hear

Maui get out, but he soon appeared right above her, and grabbed her by the waist and lifted her.

She screeched but it quickly turned into a laugh, and she gripped onto his arms as he held onto her, twirling on the spot and yelling,  
"Yes! Yes yes!"

He slightly dropped her until she wrapped her arms around his neck and almost sobbed in relief. She felt her muscles beneath her rolling with power as she returned to full strength.

Maui put her down, but they gripped to each other's arms, grinning and panting.

Hina turned and looked at Katao's brothers, then ran and hugged the nearest one, without giving him a choice.

"Thank you so much!" She says, hearing and feeling the shark laugh, and hug her back. She hugged the next, and then the last one, all of them laughing and patting her back.

"Wasn't any trouble." The last one said. "Anything to bother that slimy pest."

Hina stepped back, suddenly embarrassed that she'd shown so much affection so quickly, but she couldn't bring herself to be ashamed. These males deserved her extreme and open gratitude.

Maui saunters up, suddenly perked up for the first time in days. "So what's our next-,"

A rush of water and sound of gasps sounded behind them. Demi-gods and demons turned to see the commotion, and Hina gasped as she saw Moana and Ahonui surfacing the water with another one of the Ka-poe-kina-mano.

"Moana!" Hina and Maui gasped together, and were both about to run around the bowl towards them, when Te Tunaroa in his giant eel form, reared from the water with a vicious intent.

Hina paused, watching her best friend and Ahonui run, and Te Tunaroa spotting the two mortals. Before the great eel could snap Ahonui in half, the smart boy tossed Moana what Hina now saw was Maui's hook, and ducked the evil eels snap.

Hina wasn't sure what happened next, but suddenly Te Tunaroa was tossing and screeching and searching for something, anything, or anyone to destroy.  
Both demi-gods saw Moana running towards them, and they sprinted to meet her half way.

"Moana!" Maui yelled, and launched himself from where he was, landing only a few metres in front of her. She threw the hook with deft accuracy, and he caught it, flashed blue, and was a hawk in a blink of an eye.

Screeching in bird-song, Maui soared upwards, and Te Tunaroa trailed with his head slightly tilted, as if his other eye wasn't working properly.  
More movement below caught her eye, and she spotted other demons, that she had watched from the sky for thousands of years cause all kind of mishaps, emerged from the water after Te Tunaroa. They were snarling, and then launched towards Ahonui.

Ahonui only glanced to the side and saw Maui leap into the air as a feathered menace hawk. Moana kept running for Hina, and they eventually met each other, just as Te Tunaroa spotted Ahonui, at the same time he heard the remaining demons come after him.

There was a strange sound behind him, and the beat of wings.

Hawk crashed into tern just as the demon tried to skewer Ahonui with its beak. Ahonui didn't even look back, because he had to dodge another snap from Te Tunaroa, who tried swiping his head sideways so Ahonui couldn't jump forward or back fast enough. So he had to jump. Te Tunaroa tried twisting upwards as Ahonui leaped over the snout that came swinging towards him, but only raised enough to knock his legs. Ahonui cried out, but raised his hands in front of him in time, and with luck or skill, he tumbled on the other side, coming to his feet again.

Not giving time to celebrate, he ran on, reaching Moana and Hina.

"Ahonui!" Hina yelled, and ran forward, growing as she did. Ahonui looked to hi left and dropped.

Eel head came down.

Hina's fist came up.

Hina's enlarged fist connected with the bottom of Te Tunaroa's jaw and his head went flying backwards, a crack sounding across the sky like thunder.

Eel screeched and Hina held her fist up again, ready for hit #2.

Suddenly Ahonui got hit with a force from his right, as a shape from his left went over them.

"Ahonui move!" Moana yelled, who had pinned him on the floor just before one of the barracuda humanoids had launched at him in a tackle.  
She stood, grabbing his arm and pulled him to his feet. She picked up a rock and threw it with force to the next demon coming at them, but they ducked and it hit the unsuspecting demon behind them.

Ahonui started running away from the carnage, but was looking down at the rocky shoreline for signs of-

There! There it was.

The wrecked canoe. He had figured it would wash up on the island naturally, and there it was. Ahonui sprinted for it, sensing that Moana had spotted it as well.  
And that's when the tern landed in front of him.

* * *

Moana had spotted the canoe at the same time Ahonui had, and was matching him for speed to get there, trying t ignore the screeches and screams and growls behind them as hawk fought tern and Hina fought Te Tunaroa furiously.

A few beats of wings and one of the other terns had landed directly in front of Ahonui, smiling viciously as much as a beaked creature could smile. Moana stopped and reeled back, going to help Ahonui fight it, but the other demons were closing in.

The tern jabbed forward with its beak, but Ahonui dodged and then wrapped his arms around it sharp beak.

"Palu go! Get to the boat, get the weapons!" he yelled, and tried wrestling the terns head to the ground, despite its battered wings beating at his body.

Moana wanted to stay and fight, but knew he had the right idea, so turned again for the boat.

The water around it was boiling, and she pressured her legs into going faster.

Since coming to the surface, she had felt her energy power back into her with defined purpose, and she was not going to waste it while she had it.  
Heads and bodies started coming out of the water, rough-skinned and scary, but they paid no attention to Moana.

Katao stood at the front, eyes almost overflowing with hatred as he stared at the fight behind her.

"Two of you stay with Moana, the rest of you," he pointed to where eels, terns, barracuda, octopus, demi-gods and the other Ka-poe-kina-mano were in a ripping war,  
"Get them!"

As she ran through their ranks, not being touched by one, two large shapes, one on either side, started running with her.  
They were out in the open then, and then they reached the boat. Moana immediately jumped for the holding compartments, and came out with weapons, throwing them to the two sharks she had joined with.

Her Oar was there, battered bot not broken, and she grabbed it in hand while strapping a knife inside her clothing. There was the largest of axes for Hina, and the spears for Ahonui.

Moana looked up to see how her friends were doing.

Maui was still in the skies, swooping and grabbing demons in his talons, then dropping them from a deadly height.

Those that had been dropped lay still.

Hina was throwing everything she had into battling Te Tunaroa. Her growth size was probably her biggest advantage.  
The Ka-Poe-kina-mano had thrown themselves into the thick of the other demons. But Ahonui couldn't be seen.  
But the terns hadn't flown off, and the barracuda hadn't turned sides.  
It was a disaster. They didn't have the numbers and they didn't have the strength.  
 _  
We're going to lose._

"We need to get out of here." Moana yells to her new body guards.

"Katao won't like that." One of them growls.

"He won't like being dead either. Help me get the others back."

She leaps from the Canoe and starts running back up the incline, holding her Oar in hand, which had been sharpened on the edge of the handle for situations just like this, so it was a fighting pole, an axe and a spear in one.

A demon rushed her, but she ducked and then swept the flattened end upwards, knocking its head back and didn't even watch it hit the ground as she kept going.  
Three came at her, but the sharks beside her dealt with two while she swept the legs out from under the twisted and slimy Ka-poe-kina-ia, then smacked her oar down onto its head twice, and kept moving.

Hina above her had grabbed Te Tunaroa by the head threw it down, then let out a flying kick that sent him crashing onto the other side of the edge of the bowl. If they were out in open ocean, Hina wouldn't have a chance, But Te Tunaroa had trapped himself, and was paying for it. He had probably already tried making it out, but Hina would have made sure he'd stay put.

Maui spotted Moana from the skies, and dropped the demon he had, then swooped down towards her, landing and transforming beside her.

"Maui we have to get out of here." Moana said, both of them watching around them as the sharks fought bravely and fiercely, but they still didn't have the numbers, and some were being grabbed by up to five opposes and…not kept intact.

Maui turns and says "I'm glad you're okay."

"None of us will be if we don't get out of here." She snaps in response, and he nods. "Help me get Ahonui, then Hina."

"We'll get Ahonui, _I'll_ get Hina."

"We need you to escape Maui."

His face sours, as he realises she's right. "I'm not leaving her."

"We're not, we're just getting a head start. I once forgot when it was the time to run, but I know better now. _This_ is the time to run."  
Maui took a deep breath and nodded, then transformed and started looking for Ahonui from the skies while also still dropping demons, sometimes two at a time. Moana ran her way up the slope, beating left and right with her oar, while the two sharks caught up with her that had been protecting her before.

She started to panic as she couldn't spot Ahonui among the fight.

"There!" One of the sharks said, pointing to a body lying on the edges of the fight, and with a stab to the heart Moana realises the shark is right, and the still body is Ahonui. She runs for it, having to bat a few demons in the head with her oar to get past them.

She almost trips on the rough rocks as she makes it to his side, kneeling next to him, ignoring the pain it stabbed into her legs. "Ahonui!" He was on his side, his eyes closed.

She checked for a pulse and watched his chest, and felt immediate relief when she felt the _baboom_ of a heartbeat, and watched his chest rise.  
But he'd been beaten badly, and left to die on the rocky slopes.

"Maui!" Moana yelled, while the two sharks protected her from oncoming demons.

The hawk heard her, and twisted down. She threw the large axe into the air, and he caught it.

"Get that to Hina!" she yells, and soon he's swooping away again, towards the fighting Hina.

She watched and waited, and then Maui was back, landing next to her.

"I can't carry you both while flying for very long, I'll have to be a whale." He says, picking Ahonui up and slinging the smaller man over his shoulder.

"As long as we get off this island. Ka-poe-kina-mano," She says, and one of them turns while the other keeps fighting. "Escape with us."

"We'll hold them off, and once you're gone, we'll make our own way." He responds, dark and scarred and scary, but to Moana was a saviour.  
Maui nods a thanks to them, and then they race down to the water.

Some demons clearly tried to follow them, but the whole clan of the Ka-poe-kina-mano drew them back into the fight, stopping them from a chase.

"Maui, what about when they start following. They'll attack us in the water." Moana says while running.

Maui swears. "Fine, we'll have to island hop."

"But the nearest island is-,"

"I know." Maui growls darkly.  
Moana looks back over her shoulder for a moment and was relieved to see that nothing was following them...yet. They made the shore, and Maui saw the boat.

"We can't use it." He transforms with Ahonui still over his shoulder into the giant hawk. "Get on."  
Moana climbed onto his back and pulled Ahonui to sit in front of her, slumped against her body in his unconsciousness. She grips onto Maui and Ahonui as tightly as she can, as Maui crouches and then takes off.

Moana had ridden on his back a few times, and had gotten used to the flip of her belly as the ground left her feet and was replaced with air and feathers.  
Maui swept back over the island, and let out a song as they neared Hina, who had the ugly eel god in a head lock, her large axe lying on the rocks next to her. In this form Te Tunaroa couldn't evolve arms or limbs, so he was practically useless apart from his double jaws lined with needle teeth.

Hina looked up long enough to spot them, and the two demi-gods exchanged a nod.

Te Tunaroa thrashed, then lifted the end of his tail and hit Hina in the side of the head, sending her tumbling into the side of the bowl. Maui let out a cry, and was about to dive, but Hina looked up and yells,

"Go! I'll catch up."  
Moana could feel Maui hesitate, then he shook his beaked head, ashamed of himself, and then powered further up into the sky as the sun set in the west.


End file.
